Adrian the BloodDrinker
by roughdiamond5
Summary: Adrian, daughter of Ares and Aurora, despises humans. However, she'll either save or end Regalia with Gregor, a human known as the rager, according to the Prophecy of Trap. Worse, everyone fears and hates her for her label in the prophecy: blood-drinker.
1. iw Adrian Proves Herself Lethal

**Before you read, please note that before I post every chapter, I write it out by hand, so some parts may seem a little short. And one more thing, this is my first multi-chapter TUC fanfic ("Goodnight Bane" was a one-shot).**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Underland Chronicles**_**, no matter how much I wish I did. Adrian, however, is mine. In fact, any character that you don't recognize is likely mine. Let this be my disclaimer for the entire story.**

**This takes place a few days, if not a week, before Gregor finds Luxa and Aurora in the jungle. And it's very short, but most of the other chapters will be at least double this size.**

**PART ONE: LOSING**

**Chapter One: In Which Adrian Proves Herself Lethal**

"Oh, Aurora." Luxa shook her head. "Oh, Aurora."

"What is it?" Aurora stiffened only slightly; she was too exhausted. But the fear in her voice was rare and unmistakable.

"The pup." Luxa stroked the fuzz of the newborn pup, who inched closer to Aurora and curled up under her wing.

"It is fine." Aurora's shoulders trembled in a silent laugh, and she edged the little flier closer into her fur. "It is fine," She repeated, more to reassure herself.

"Yes, she is fine." Luxa nodded and tried to catch the eye of her bone. "She has Ares' fur. But also yours."

Aurora blinked, and hesitantly lifted her wing. Her pup pressed against her mother, beginning to nurse. The newborn's midnight fur clashed against her mother's gold coat, except for one stripe of glowing gold that ran down her spine like a river ran through a desert. Aurora looked up to Luxa again, and Luxa could see the mix of disbelief and sorrow on her face. They knew that feeling all too well.

"Aurora, she is part of the Prophecy of Trap," Luxa blurted before Aurora could find reason to object. "She is the blood-drinker."

As if on cue, the bat pup turned up and smiled, her eyes flashing red. And then she bit her mother.

Aurora hissed in a breath, but it was Luxa who took action. She whapped the pup on her nose, and the pup turned around to retaliate. Luxa used the position to wrap her arms around the baby flier, like reigning in a toddler in a tantrum. She would have forced the bat out of the cave and then the nibblers' lands by sword-point, but-

"No!" Aurora lifted herself up, holding put her wings to steady herself. The pup wriggled out of Luxa's slackening grip and hobbled towards her mother. The fliers both collapsed onto the floor of the cave, holding each other.

"Not my pup," Aurora muttered. "My pup cannot be the blood-drinker, Luxa. I will not let her be." She looked up to Luxa desperately. And in that look, Luxa saw herself when she had learned her parents had died. But this was different. Aurora, a new mother, had just learned that her child was a killer.

Slowly, almost apologetically, the pup began to lap up Aurora's trickling blood.

"Do you see?" Aurora and Luxa exclaimed at the same time.

"Aurora, listen to me," Luxa said cautiously. She let her hands fall to her sides, knowing that she and Aurora couldn't disagree. Not here, not now. "I know Sandwich's prophecies come true more often than not, but they come true in the strangest of ways. Your pup," she gestured to the newborn, "may be a threat. I do not know. But you have gone through so much for me and for Ares, and I cannot watch you risk your life for this pup that may cause nothing but harm."

Aurora dropped her head. Luxa felt a twang of sadness. "Do you understand, Aurora?" She asked in a gentle tone. "I want you to be safe."

"And my daughter?" Aurora set a wing over the pup that now watched the conversation as if trying to understand. "Aside from you and the nibblers, she is all I have. Ares is far away from us, and assuming he lives, he will not find us for years. She is all I have left of him." Aurora began to stroke the pup's black fur. "And blood-drinker or not, I will keep her."

"She _is_ the blood-drinker," Luxa interjected. "The prophecy even mentions Ares. 'Bred by traitor'?"

"And the line 'born in vines'. I do not doubt you," Aurora sighed. "My poor pup…my poor Adrian."

Luxa raised an eyebrow at the name, but didn't question it. So the blood-drinker's name was Adrian. A strange name, but appropriate for such a dark, golden, evil, empathetic…unique flier.

"I will speak with the nibblers. Tell them you and…Adrian have survived. Cevian will be pleased."

"Yes, Luxa. But do not let them meet Adrian yet," Aurora said. Luxa moved her shadow away from the two fliers and paused, stricken by how weary Aurora looked. She hadn't been sleeping well lately, with all the pain that her growing pup had caused her, and now that the birth was done and her pup was falling asleep by her side, she was ready to collapse.

Luxa nodded feebly and left. Of course the nibblers wouldn't get to meet the blood-drinker until she was in control. Luxa wasn't entirely sure the nibblers would even want to hear they had saved the life of the flier that could kill them all.

A purr kept Luxa stationed at the mouth of the cave.

"You will grow to be good, Adrian," Aurora breathed to her pup, halfway asleep already. "When we find Ares, you will have a family full of light. And that light will spread through the Underland because of you."

Gentle breathing echoed through the cave. Luxa went to meet with the nibblers and tell them the news. But as she walked, she rubbed a hand on her wrist in worry. That young pup, if she didn't fulfill the prophecy, was at least going to drink Aurora dry. Why did this pup out of millions, the pup that her bond could not let go of, have to be born the blood-drinker?

**Please review!**


	2. iw Adrian Goes from Paw to Paw

**My thanks to Mad Reminant, Darkrider013, and LadyCorkboard for the reviews! Reviews/compliments really top my day. Or, night, seeing as I like to be nocturnal. :P**

**This takes place a few days after Adrian's birth (in case this isn't understood immediately), and just a few days away from when Gregor arrives while on his quest for the Prophecy of Blood.**

**Chapter Two: In Which Adrian Goes from Paw to Paw**

Adrian wished the nibblers would stop. Despite her squirms and mews of protest, the large gray-furred nibbler trekked on with Adrian on her back.

Adrian knew that what she'd done was bad. Nothing that caused her mother so much screaming could be good. All she'd wanted to do was have her mother's attention because she was hungry again. But Aurora had been speaking in hushed tones with Luxa about a "praw-feh-see" or whatever it was. They periodically glanced to Adrian, who was being shown some large, squishy orange orbs by the gray-furred nibbler. Aurora ate the orbs with obvious happiness, but Adrian couldn't try something so strange while Aurora and Luxa were discussing things that had to be about her.

Adrian lifted herself onto her feet by her wings and half-hopped to Aurora. Both her mother and Luxa stopped talking and stared openly at her. Luxa, strange two-legged being that she was, took a step away. Aurora sat patiently, waiting for Adrian.

The next few moments were a blur to Adrian. Her stomach growled once, and next Luxa was yanking her from Aurora's neck. Adrian could still taste her mother's blood on her teeth. Aurora had enough strength to struggle, but Adrian managed to flutter towards her mother's neck once more and bit into her shoulder.

That was when the screaming began.

The gray-furred nibbler screamed apologies, that she didn't know what Adrian would do. Luxa screamed at Adrian to let go, and told Aurora to hold still for Adrian would be taken care of. Aurora simply screamed, high and loud and piercingly, and it was that screech that made Adrian realize what wrong she'd done.

She unclenched her fangs and fell limply to the ground. Aurora's wings hung at a painful angle, and she was breathing deeply and trying not to scream anymore. The gray-furred nibbler wrapped her small arms around Aurora and eased her onto her stomach, but the pain had Aurora screaming at a higher pitch, one only Adrian could hear. She squirmed in discomfort and shame, and Luxa tightened her grip on the young flier.

Oh, why would she not let go? Adrian squirmed harder, until her wings finally burst out of Luxa's arms and fluttered into their full span. Luxa cried out and staggered back.

The gray-furred nibbler's grip slipped, and Aurora landed on the stone ground on her stomach. After seeing the glazed look in her eyes and that she was still bleeding, Adrian began to cry and lunged towards her mother. The gray-furred nibbler placed a firm paw on Adrian's shoulder, and Luxa stood next to her bond and gazed upon Adrian with malice. Luxa's cheek had a long scratch from her eye to her jaw line that was trickling blood like teardrops- probably Adrian's fault, made when she unfurled her wings and hit Luxa with her talon.

"_You,_" Luxa snarled. "How _could_ you attack Aurora, blood-drinker? Have you no idea who she is? What she should mean to you?"

Adrian turned and buried her head in the downy fur of the nibbler, sniffling and trying not to smell the injuries. Whenever she did, she saw red again. She could not, though, not with Aurora like this...

"Aurora gave you light!" Luxa raged. "She keeps you safe from anything that may hurt you, and so you hurt her to repay her!"

"Luxa, I am-"

"Your wing, Aurora!" Luxa swiveled to face Aurora, sunk on the floor. "It is hanging by a thread because your daughter dislocated it." Luxa turned to Adrian again. "She keeps you living still. But why? Why, Adrian?"

"She cannot speak, Luxa!" Aurora said, and faced her daughter with tears pricking her eyes. "She is sorry. I know. She will learn to be good, I promise you. But she cannot have learned after having only lived a few days, and she cannot learn through this."

Adrian choked out a mew and tried to edge towards her mother and her kind tone. The gray-furred nibbler held her back.

"She is _dangerous,_" Luxa hissed. "She is strong beyond belief, and if she cannot tell her mother from a corpse, she will not know how to decide the fate of the Underland!"

"We will _teach_ her!"

"Shush!" The gray-furred nibbler said in a high feminine voice. "This is not aiding the pup." And sure enough, Adrian had been trembling at the raised voices. Her stomach gave another low rumble. "If she becomes hungry _and_ upset, there is no way to know what she will do."

"She will not feed from any of _us,_" Luxa said, revolted.

"We do not know," the nibbler said quietly, "if blood is all she will take."

The nibbler cradled Adrian and set her on her back, and Luxa hesitantly followed them out of the cave after speaking to Aurora and some nibblers who would take care of her. Adrian leaned her head against the nibbler's shoulder, breathing in the light musk, reliving her mother's screams. And from the way Luxa's eyes burned in her back, Adrian wasn't the only one who was concerned about Aurora.

"Cevian," Luxa began once the nibbler had stopped and settled Adrian near more of the large, squishy orbs. "I worry for Aurora. I do not think she can see her own pup."

"She is a mother, Queen Luxa. Love keeps her blind," The nibbler- Cevian- sighed in a squeaky voice. "I recall you thought Cube to be your favorite pup of the new litter, despite his strange markings."

"Cube is not like Adrian. He and those he loves will be safe."

"Will they?" said Cevian. "We nibblers are not so protected in the jungle. I have heard reports of gnawers spying upon us. We know that when they do, soon they will ambush us and lead us away."

"I will not let that happen," Luxa said darkly. Adrian pretended to nibble at the vines. Luxa sliced one of the orbs from its vine with one whoosh of her sword, and the orb fell and cracked apart in front of Adrian.

"Eat, Adrian," Luxa said, not unkindly. She turned to Cevian. "Aurora and I owe so much to you and your family. You, who fed us and healed me and distracted Aurora from her pain. But I must make a request once more."

"Of course, Queen Luxa," Cevian said. Adrian wasn't even pretending to eat by this point, but plunged her face into the broken orb to keep Luxa talking.

"Aurora and Adrian must be separated."

"Queen Luxa!" Cevian's voice got even higher.

"No, Cevian, only for a time! Until the pup has grown and learned not to harm others. Then she can return to Aurora if- _when_- I can fix her wing. Please, Cevian, Aurora cannot take this. She needs time, and safety, but her pup has just harmed her badly enough that she may never fly again. She wants to return to Regalia, I know. She must see Ares and have doctors tend to her. But if Aurora does not heal from this damage, she will lose Regalia and have only us and her blood-drinking pup!" Luxa was becoming panicked, and she began to stand up. Cevian tugged at Luxa's tattered clothes and she sat again, her head between her knees.

"The pup needs control, I agree." Cevian rubbed Luxa on the back. "Very well. I will take the pup to another part of the jungle, and we will watch her and see if we can change her habits. But the moment Aurora is healed, the pup returns."

"Yes," Luxa said, muffled by her arms. She looked up to Adrian, and her fingers absentmindedly touched the fresh scar on her cheek. "Yes, I cannot keep them apart for long."

These last words rang in Adrian's ears, even now on Cevian's back. Cevian and two nibblers with coats similar to her had picked Adrian up the moment she fell asleep outside the cave. And now they were carrying her through parts of the jungle she had never seen before. Adrian had heard, but never actually understood those words spoken with such hidden meaning. She knew words like "pup" and "pain". These words referred to her. And Aurora was her mother, and Luxa took care of her mother, and Cevian was obviously very close to both of them.

Adrian wanted them to trust her to be with them. Or rather, she wanted to _earn_ their trust. She wanted people to let her be with her mother. And maybe Luxa could speak without such a tired, pained tone. And maybe Cevian and her friends wouldn't have to mind Adrian, and she could play with the other nibbler pups instead of the big, yelling, fear-causing adults.

And maybe she could eat one of the large, squishy orbs without gagging.

Where was her mother? Was she alright? Luxa had seemed ready to fix Aurora before. Maybe the nibblers were taking Adrian to something she could ear while her mother was being fixed, and then she could come back to the cave and curl up against her mother and fall asleep. Aurora always helped her sleep by telling her stories about her father, Ares. Adrian wasn't sure what a father was. All she knew was that Ares was an extremely large, extremely strong flier with fur like Adrian's (except he didn't have a gold stripe down his back). Aurora wanted to teach Adrian to use her wings so she could go to something called Regalia and meet Ares.

She let out a yawn and readjusted her position on Cevian's back. The way her mother spoke, Ares would make everything better. And Adrian would very much like for things to be better.

"Cevian," The smaller nibbler with gray fur said. "I hear something."

"Can we tend to the pup before we investigate?" The larger, lighter-colored nibbler grunted. Somewhere along the journey, he had taken out something very thin and sharp that Cevian called a knife. He now held it in his paws, examining it, making jabs with it. "But then, maybe I can tend to it with this," He said as he tried to hold onto the knife's glinting body.

"Thagor," Cevian warned, slightly out of breath. Adrian was small, but anything could get heavy if carried for long. "This this thing we hear may be a threat to the pup, and I do not trust your knife skills."

The smaller nibbler who had first spoken ran its paw through its hair in worry. "If so, we must-"

"Stop, nibblers."

"Flee…" The smaller nibbler squeaked.

Four humongous nibbler-like forms separated themselves from the jungle's vines. Their fur looked as soft as that of a nibbler, and they had paws, hind legs, and bodies like a nibbler, but they towered a foot over the nibblers and had deep, growling voices that rattled the ground. What really set Adrian off were the giant fangs that tore out of their nibbler-like mouths. If she had those fangs, her mother would be dead.

"Hide you now," Cevian whispered. Guessing what she meant by that, Adrian squeezed herself against Cevian's back in order to keep out of sight of these threatening-looking creatures.

"Do you nibblers not know the meaning of 'our territory'?" The largest nibbler-like creature said, almost bored. But the way he (Adrian thought it was a 'he', with his deep voice) stood so straight on his hind legs and glared down at the nibblers, he meant business.

"Hey, Locklunge, we may actually have even numbers! 'Less that lump on the nibbler's back is food…" Another "he" with red fur licked his teeth.

"You cannot have her, gnawer!" Thagor said, holding out his knife menacingly. "The leading gnawer, Locklunge, raised an eyebrow, and Thagor took a step back.

"Show us what you carry, nibbler," Locklunge said. Cevian didn't move. "And I'm warning you now, don't bore me. I only have so much control," Locklunge leered, and two of the gnawers cackled. The last one, a smaller gnawer with a silver coat that glistened in the jungle light, stepped towards Cevian. All three of the nibblers bared their teeth. Adrian dropped her gaze from behind Cevian's shoulder and pressed her face against the nibbler.

"I haven't got all day!" Locklunge growled. "Silversnap, what are they trying to guard?"

"A pup of some sort," The small silver gnawer responded, and stroked Adrian's neck. "Come on, show us your pretty face- oh!"

Adrian looked to the gnawer with the motherly voice, revealing the gold stripe on her spine and skull that tapered off above her eyes. The gnawer, Silversnap, pulled her hand from Adrian's fur, but made no attempt to flee. Adrian smiled- the gnawer wasn't trying to flee!- and exposed her incredibly sharp teeth.

"She's a flier," Silversnap said and turned to her fellow gnawers with a grin, "with a gold stripe down her back."

"So?" A tawny gnawer said gruffly.

The red-furred gnawer who had thought Adrian was food spoke. "So, haven't you heard of the Prophecy of Trap?"

Cevian moaned.

"Oh, we know about the prophecy, nibbler." Locklunge smirked.

"You cannot have her!" Cevian said.

"Why not? The way you've come marching into our territory, she's like a gift to us. One we'll fight for," Locklunge said. Silversnap lunged for Adrian.

But before the nibblers had made a move to save her, one of the gnawers- the tawny one- gave a yelp, and everyone froze as he was pulled into the trees by his tail. A huge, scaly head with slits for eyes opened its impossibly large mouth from between two plants, and the gnawer set one foot on each of its jaws to keep from being swallowed whole.

As Locklunge and the other gnawer tried to use their claws to repel the monster, another monster sunk its fang into Thagor's leg. Cevian and her companion sprang into action, as Cevian began to circle around the creature's eye and dig her claws in between large scales that made up its skin. The third nibbler tugged at Thagor, who screamed in a contest with the gnawer and dropped his knife on the ground.

"The eye! The eye!" Locklunge called to the gnawers. Cevian overhead and slashed her claws against the beast's glassy eye, about as large as one of Adrian's claws on her feet. The beast let go of Thagor, but thrashed its head in pain, knocking Cevian and Adrian against a plant with more of the orbs that Adrian couldn't eat.

One of the orbs leaned towards Adrian from its vine. She suspected this was a very bad thing.

Cevian rushed to thrust her entire weight into the monster and rammed it against a tree, cracking its neck so that its scales stuck out awkwardly; Adrian was left defenseless and clueless on the ground. The monster that had attacked the gnawers now slithered past them on its belly- it was as long as a vine and as tall as one of the orange orbs!- to aid its companion. The third nibbler ran charging towards the monster and slashed its flailing tongue.

The squishy orb began to open its jaws next to Adrian's head. The smell was horrible.

Now both monsters had brought their long, thin bodies into view. The gnawers were thrusting their fangs and claws into any part of the body they could find. The nibblers hacked the monster's scales away. The tawny gnawer had actually worked his way into the coil that one monster had made of its body, but the monster was literally squeezing the life out of him. His eyes widened as his attempts to pull out lessened, and he soon became limp.

Adrian could now see into the mouth of the squishy orb. It was gooey and yellow, and there was a tunnel at the end that was widening as the orb slowly pulled Adrian inside.

"No!"

Aurora?

Adrian was grabbed by her feet and tugged back into the light of the jungle. Silversnap- who had cried out in concern that only Aurora would feel- hoisted Adrian onto her back and began to slash at the plant, which had burst to life the moment Adrian was out. A vine snatched at Adrian's wing, but Silversnap pulled away and ran into one of the monsters.

All three of the nibblers had taken one side of a monster, dug their claws into its scaly skin, and were ramming its skull against a collection of thick vines. The gnawers had only enraged the second monster, whose head was flailing until it touched something it could bite.

That was the monster that Silversnap had run into, and now the monster uncoiled (dropping the tawny gnawer's body) and sprung towards them, jaws open to show a red liquid dripping from its teeth. Adrian began to scream as Silversnap somersaulted out of its way and dropped her on the ground

The monster landed on top of Adrian. But it didn't crush her, for a red-furred gnawer, the very gnawer that had thought Adrian was food was next to her, hoisting the monster's slick belly onto his shoulders so that she would be safe. The bleeding gashes on his arms and stomach made him tremble, though, and he collapsed just as silver paws stole Adrian from her safe pocket.

"Flesh is dead! Retreat!" Silversnap called to Locklunge as she hurdled into the jungle with Adrian in her arms. A fang hurled at Silversnap's head, though, made her stop.

"We will _not_ lose this pup!" Cevian hissed from behind them.

"Only a rat can raise the blood-drinker!" Silversnap retorted, and, cackling, set off into the trees. The last Adrian saw of the nibbler was the concern on her gray face as they grew farther and farther apart until she disappeared into the vines.

**Be prepared: next chapter is a short little bit of agnsty Ares/Aurora that I thought would be fun to post. Then the plot moves on.**

**Please review!**


	3. iw Ares is Changed by his Daughter

**I felt like updating. :P**

**My thanks to LadyCardboard for the review! Rest assured, the attack (and the name of the "monsters") will be explained in the chapter after this. As I warned, this is just some nice agnst with Ares to throw everyone off. This takes place in Marks of Secret, shortly before they find Photos Glow-Glow and Zap. This is the last time flux I will be making.**

**Oh, and forgive me for my titles. Sometimes I just have nothing better than the obvious.**

**Chapter Three: In Which Ares is Changed by his Daughter**

Ares didn't mind staying awake to watch for enemies while his comrades slept. He did, however, mind the thoughts that shot through his head unexpectedly, like lightning bolts. Just a glance to the sleeping figures nearby, or the moss growing on various rocks, or sometimes nothing at all would trigger thoughts that twisted his mind and nailed his heart to a cold, dark corner of Hades Hall.

He had a daughter. He had never imagined it, until Aurora pulled him into a cave and told him, after he had recovered from the plague. The story seemed so fantastic.

However, it was possible. Shortly after Gregor returned and before they went to hunt for the Bane, there had been a send-off dinner arranged by Vikus, which seated everyone who had helped fulfill the Prophecy of Gray. Of course, Ares had been upset even before he was asked to eat there. Every human and flier- save Aurora and Luxa- had been shunning him, his bond was hardly any better than Henry, and to top it all off, his lonely cave was getting neighbors. Fliers were settling on his cliffside to start families, and try as he might, Ares could not ignore their obvious happiness. It was a headache, watching something he couldn't attain.

So he had been asked to relive the days that had pushed him into his loneliness. Of course he had departed. Without a word, Ares had retreated from the dinner into his cave, trying to block out the laughter of of his neighbors. These were fliers who were loved, fliers who thought him a traitor, fliers whose lives he could never quite grasp.

Later that evening, Aurora had found him.

That night was something Ares wanted to relive, and he did: when he was restless on the boat, when he yearned for her to return from hiding, when he was hallucinating in the hospital. He didn't get another moment alone with Aurora until she was back from the jungle and the Prophecy of Blood had been fulfilled. But not once did his mind ever stray from Aurora, and the feelings they had exchanged that night.

Not once had he considered that Aurora could have been pregnant.

This was the fantastic part, the part that Ares still struggled to wrap his mind around. Aurora had been expecting when she stowed away with Luxa to find the Bane, and after she found herself in the jungle, she gave birth to a living, breathing girl. The girl- named Adrian, for no reason apparent to Ares- had Ares' ebony fur (incredible! He could never call a shade of fur "his" before), but she also had one stripe of Aurora's gold fur.

Ares refused to accept that this was the mark of the blood-drinker. But he could hardly disprove what Aurora told him: Adrian had to tried to attack for blood upon her birth, and then there was the incident-

Next to Ares, Aurora stirred in her sleep.

Ares sighed. He'd never been happier to see Aurora than when she'd returned from the jungle. But now that he knew the story- Luxa had sent Adrian with Cevian, and Cevian lost her to gnawers- his thoughts about Aurora were bittersweet. Luxa wouldn't want to kill Adrian, but the gnawers certainly would. Everyone hated the blood-drinker and the troubles one was supposed to bring. So he and Aurora had unintentionally brought a young girl- a supposed enemy- into the world, and then they had lost her because somebody feared her too much. And Ares hadn't even gotten to meet her.

Why? Why did people have to fear a pup because of what it could do? Adrian could have been different from the Bane; the Bane had let the wrong people get to him. But Ares would have tried to have been a good parent. Aurora definitely would have done well. But Adrian hadn't had a chance to prove anyone right or wrong.

Ares' eyes twitched to little Thalia, curled up tight against a wall. How had she gotten into this? She was innocent, young, and vulnerable…and maybe because Ares thought the same of Adrian, he confused her with Thalia. It was wrong, but it was all he could do to make it up to himself. If he had only followed Aurora when she disappeared, or at least searched for her in the jungle, he could have found Adrian and kept her from the gnawers' clutches. So he protected Thalia in compensation. As if that would help.

His daughter had been killed because of a prophecy. How ridiculous was that? Words carved on a wall, striking fear into the hearts of the Underland. If the Prophecy of Trap had predicted a blood-drinker, then a blood-drinker would come. But the gnawers had killed the one that arrived- a one-in-a-million chance birth, he may add- so what was Sandwich to say to that? It served him right to have his reputation as a prophet ruined, Ares thought bitterly. It served him right for making people fear his daughter enough to kill her.

What was the point in these prophecies? People were terrorized into obeying an insane man's words and pegging an unwanted destiny on someone out of place. And what did it matter who was leading the armies? Even without Adrian, or Gregor or the Bane, the Underland would still find a way to make war. Look at what they had done to his bonds.

Ares squeezed his eyes shut. Despite having never met his daughter and not knowing of her until she was killed, he found himself mourning her. Even if she was a blood-drinker, she was his blood-drinker. He had almost wanted a family (one of the things he had told Aurora on that night), but he had never known how deeply he could care about one. Especially not Adrian.

"Ares?" A voice whispered. It was Howard, rubbing his eyes as if he could see in this dank darkness. "Are you sleeping?"

Ares lifted his head, but still looked down. He had gotten too far into his thoughts and his emotions. It was harder to let go of them now.

"I will take the watch," Howard said gently. Ares nodded and lay down next to Aurora. He felt it was alright to rest with her; they had been through too much together not to need each other's company.

Before he completely melted into dreams of his daughter and a life he actually wanted, Ares came to a conclusion: he did not believe in Sandwich's prophecies.

**Please review! It puts a smile on my face and makes me post faster.**


	4. iw Adrian Saves a Life

**My thanks to saacool gregor and percy rocks, coyearth, and Darkrider013 for the reviews! It was ridiculous, I was grinning so widely and bouncing up and down as I read those reviews and saw how many hits I'd gotten. Of course, I get easily excited, so I don't know what you'd make of that. :P**

**Okay, so perhaps the last few chapters were not quite as entertaining or sense-making. Hopefully this one should be better (look down- it explains what the monsters were!). This takes place about the time of Code of Claw, as implied later in the chapter. Adrian is a few months old now.**

**Chapter Four: In Which Adrian Saves a Life**

"Wake up, Adrian," Silversnap's voice swam into her dreaming head.

Adrian's eyes fluttered open, taking note of the misty light that filtered into the cave. She had shared this cave with Silversnap and her mate, Locklunge, ever since she had been introduced to the colony of gnawers that Locklunge commanded.

Ironically, her dream concerned the night that the monsters- twisters, or snakes, and some of the largest the jungle knew- attacked. It wasn't like she could help these dreams. It was just that that time changed her life.

She had discovered that she had another mother in Silversnap, who had protected her from snakes the moment Cevian let go. And- even better- the gnawers had no problem with Adrian's feeding habits. In fact, she had never realized how starving she was until the gnawers gave her a fresh carcass. The blood was thick, but still warm, and no one screamed or tried to stop her. The gnawers simply lounged in a circle around Adrian, exchanging smiles, which made Adrian smile too.

There was one other important detail. Locklunge had gone back into the jungle (he came back with the carcass for Adrian) and found the knife that Thagor had been carrying. He said it was human-made, and that humans gave it to their allies to kill their enemies. In this case, it was given to Thagor to kill the one person in the group that a human would consider its enemy.

Because, like Locklunge said, the gnawers wouldn't want to kill Adrian, but the humans certainly would.

As Adrian learned to speak, Silversnap tried to squeeze out information about Adrian's past. What was she doing in the jungle? Why did three nibblers have her, and just where were they trying to take her? How had they been feeding her? Because she had been skin and bones when they found her. Did she know what the word "trap" meant? Or how she got a gold stripe on her back?

Adrian had a certain respect for Silversnap, who always fed her and tried to phrase her questions so that Adrian wouldn't be uneasy. But Adrian simply didn't know what to do with questions she couldn't answer. Half the memories she had of Luxa, Cevian and the other nibblers were gibberish; they often hid their feelings behind anger or silence, and Adrian hadn't understood half the words at the time. Only Aurora stood clearly in her memory, with her straightforward warmth and affection, and her stories about Ares and the place called Regalia. And Adrian wasn't sure she could tell Silversnap about Aurora. It was like Aurora was a secret stashed deep in Adrian's heart next to the image she associated with Ares: her mother, the loving flier that would do anything for her daughter to be fed and happy. Besides, Adrian didn't like to reflect on the pain she had caused her mother in just a few days of knowing her. Silversnap- whose cry of "no!" at Adrian's near death sounded so desperate that Adrian mistook her for Aurora- couldn't know that Adrian harmed people she trusted. Without the gnawers or Aurora, how would Adrian survive?

"We have a surprise for you," Silversnap said presently and set Adrian on her feet. Adrian almost looked her in the neck. She had been growing tremendously and painfully over the past months. Most gnawers attributed it to the blood-drinking.

"You're slow today." Silversnap gave Adrian a little nudge towards the mouth of the cave with a smile on her lips. "But if you're lucky, you'll be full for days! We got this body from the borders of the jungle. Still warm, like you like it, Adrian."

Adrian yawned and nodded wearily. Usually that was enough of a response for this time of day when she was still waking up.

Chatter rippled through the crowd of twenty or so gnawers at the sight of Adrian inching along the hillside, but they fell silent as she passed by. All eyes were on her, the bleary, unfocused flier with her fur mussed up. They knew she preferred to rise when they were sleeping, but Locklunge insisted she be up to play with the other gnawer pups and Silversnap, who watched them.

The noise of the jungle was all but deafening when Adrian approached the center of the crowd. Locklunge was standing triumphantly next to a large gold lump on the ground. Adrian stooped over to see the heart-shaped face of a flier, eyes closed in an expression of pain. She had a large gash that tore into her side, and her coat glistened in the light of the jungle with a sheen of sweat and blood.

"Breakfast, Adrian." Locklunge smiled to Adrian.

At that moment, the flier on the ground drew in a breath so slightly that only Adrian could see. She breathed so shakily, and winced halfway through due to a bruise on her chest. She didn't dare show any more pain than that. Just like Aurora.

Adrian sat next to the first flier she'd seen in months. On closer inspection, the flier had a red tint to her coat, and the gold was darker than Aurora's sheen. Still, she breathed with Aurora's determination. That made all the difference.

"She lives," Adrian said in a whisper.

"Adrian, eat. It's not like she'll fight," Silversnap said matter-of-factly. Some of the gnawers began to exchange looks, and more began to murmur.

Adrian stroked the glowing fur of the flier. "I will fight, Silversnap."

"I know." Locklunge set a paw on Adrian's shoulder. "You're better with puddles of blood than drinking from the carcass. Flametooth, would you?" He called to his closest henchman, who lunged forward to cut the gash.

Adrian shook her head furiously. "No, I mean-"

"Hestia!"

A small brown form fell from the sky and through the trees, almost crashing into the gnawers at the edge of the crowd. The form untangled its limbs and limped through the path the gnawers made for it.

"Hestia!" When it saw the golden flier on the ground, it fluttered towards her, using its wings to balance and propel itself. It fell on top of the flier, panting in deep, shuddering sobs.

"Hestia, wake!" It cried. Adrian could now see that it was a flier, but not a flier that she had seen before. Its face was rounder, its jaw squarer, and its fur was a ruddy mix of black, red, and gold that blended to brown. What was stranger, it used the long, thin wings at its side to move, almost like waving away air. The only thing that Adrian could really understand was how desperately it clung to the golden flier.

"She is alive," Adrian said softly to the flier. It paused, and then looked up to Adrian as if just noticing her.

"Behind you!" It cried, and suddenly pulled her by the wing away from Silversnap, who had leaned closer. The flier tried to limp away with Adrian, but Locklunge grasped it by the shoulders and held it still.

"What are you doing, boy?" Locklunge snarled. Adrian studied the flier; she had not seen a boy flier before.

"Hestia is my mother!" The boy formed his first real sentence, struggling out of Locklunge's grip. "And you took her!"

"She was lying by herself outside the jungle," Locklunge said.

"She was attacked by more of your kind when we were flying away from a battle. She fell and told me to hide in the jungle, and then you came out and _you took her!_" The boy flier pulled away and fell back onto his mother.

"Locklunge, why did you attack the flier?" Adrian asked.

"We didn't. Those were other gnawers," Locklunge said. "Boy, what do you mean about a battle?"

"You and the humans are at war. You're gathering at the walls of Regalia. Hestia wanted to take me to the fliers' lands, but we had to go through the battle and she was attacked."

Locklunge tapped a tooth in thought. "We're at war, are we? And here we've been boiling in the jungle, waiting for a chance to strike. What's the problem this time?"

"You're murdering the nibblers, and the queen won't stand for it. We'll win, though. We've got the warrior."

Adrian felt bad for the flier. No one could one-up Locklunge.

"Oh, do you now? So where was the warrior when your mother was ambushed?" Locklunge sneered. "Flametooth, Thrust, go to the nibbler colony and see if they've fled. Help them along if they haven't, and steal their supplies either way. Silversnap, I want this boy out of my lands. Adrian, eat."

"I won't!" Adrian said. Everyone turned to stare.

"Locklunge, please let her live. The boy too." Adrian gestured to the reddish-gold flier (apparently Hestia) and reverted to her normal mutter, almost ashamed of the stand she was taking. But Hestia was the spitting image of her mother, something Adrian would like to have. And the boy knew about Regalia.

"Why should they live?" Locklunge arched an eyebrow. Almost everyone was daring her to answer. The boy stared at her wide-eyed, his ears pricking up at her objection. Adrian looked down. What could she say? She couldn't discuss Aurora, for then the gnawers would know what pain she'd caused, and then she'd be taken away, just like last time. Her wings twitched across Hestia's bloody body as she thought.

The boy had said he and his mother had been flying (a word that Adrian heard had to do with her useless wings). He'd even crashed through the trees as if he'd fallen from the sky. And here she'd been using her wings for little more than balance.

"I want to learn to fly," Adrian concluded.

Locklunge's tail twitched. He often did that when he was surprised. But it was a good surprise. Adrian kept going.

"If you can heal Hestia and feed her son, she would be in debt to you. So she would teach me to fly because you would obviously need me to fly. I could help our pack if I could use my wings."

"And if I could find a way to keep her…" Locklunge tapped his tooth thoughtfully. "Alright. We'll heal her. But the pup needs to be watched. I don't like his tongue." He glared towards the boy, who had the prudence to be silent.

While a team of gnawers went to scour the jungle for signs of nibblers, and another group hoisted Hestia to a safer spot, Silversnap brought the boy another of the squishy orbs that Adrian gagged on.

"Will he be alright with you?" She asked Adrian, who nodded. She sat next to the boy under a bunch of vertical vines that formed a sort of tree trunk, and watched Silversnap hurry over to revive Hestia.

"What will they do?" The boy asked anxiously once they were out of earshot. "Will they heal Hestia, as you asked?"

Adrian nodded. The boy blinked, looked between Adrian and the gnawers, and then grinned and began to eat the squishy orange orb. He was halfway through it before he noticed that Adrian was there, watching him with a mix of bewilderment and disgust. He was eating the orb, the orb that Adrian gagged on, the orb that had once tried to eat her amidst a snake attack.

"Fruit?" The boy nudged a half of the squishy orb towards Adrian. She shook her head.

"I am Darius," The boy said after a minute of silence.

Adrian nodded in acknowledgement. She was too busy thinking of what to ask first. Should she start with Regalia? Or go straight to which fliers he knew? Could she even trust him with Aurora and Ares?

"Could I know the name of she who saved us?" He asked before she could even reach a conclusion.

"I saved you?" Adrian asked, disregarding her thoughts. She knew what "saved" meant. It was like the opposite of pain. A good thing. She had never thought she could do a good thing.

"Oh, yes. I cannot live out in the jungle. Or anywhere, really, if Hestia is not there. And the gnawers did not look like they would even consider saving her if you had not jumped in. So you saved Hestia from her wounds, and you saved me from being forced away from her and starving or getting hurt."

"Really," Adrian said. She hadn't thought of it that way. Just that she could save fliers with information she wanted.

"Really," He said, taking his last bite of the "fruit". "But I need to know your name so I can thank you properly."

He was now leaning against the tree, tired but happy. Adrian wasn't sure, but there was something about his face that she liked. Something trusting.

"I am Adrian," She said, looking into his eyes and holding onto that trust.

"Well, Adrian," He- Darius- tried the name on for size and smiled. "I thank you for my life and the life of my mother. You have a very pretty gold stripe on your back, and I would be happy to try to teach you to fly as soon as I take a quick rest." Darius sunk against the wall of vines and closed his eyes.

"Thank you, Darius," Adrian said after a pause. He gave a hint of another smile.

**Ah, Darius. I really like him. (Of course, I did come up with his fun past and his personality and all, but regardless...) I couldn't think of a better character than him to teach Adrian to fly.**

**Please review!**


	5. iw Darius Proves Himself Useful

**My thanks to coyearth and Darkrider013 for the reviews! Wow, I can even type their names without referring to how they're spelled. There's a thought. But anyways, reviews seriously thrill me to no end, so thank you!**

**This takes place a day after Adrian meets Darius and Hestia.**

**Chapter Five: In Which Darius Proves Himself Useful**

"Will she sleep any longer?"

"I am surprised a flier can rest so late already."

"Really?" A third voice said. "We assumed all fliers slept like Adrian."

The first voice retorted, "You have never met a flier you have not killed before."

"Hush, Darius," The second voice said.

"I'd rather you hush and ate your fruit," The third voice said. "Hermia, is it?"

"Hestia. I thank you, but I am not hungry."

So this second voice was Hestia's. Adrian liked it. It was much gentler than Silversnap's matronly rumble.

"She moves, Hestia," Darius said.

"Yes, but do not bother her still."

The third voice- Silversnap- said dismissively, "Eat. And yes, she can have fitful dreams. I wager she's still asleep."

"I'm not." Adrian opened her eyes and lolled her head to the corner of the cave, where Darius sat protectively next to Hestia. Silversnap was in from of them, with more fruit that lay untouched.

"Look who decided to show her pretty face," Silversnap said.

"Will you help?" Darius fluttered closer to Adrian, who paused. He had sounded rather eager to wake her. Did he need her to save him again? Adrian had only stumbled on the first saving by accident and was not sure she could do it again.

"He wants you to persuade his mother to eat," Silversnap said, "by eating a fruit yourself."

"Hestia must be of great hunger. But we finished the last of the food in our bag, and she will not trust the fruit of this jungle until a flier other than me tastes it." Darius said. "Will you help?"

"You need not," Hestia said. She smiled wanly at Adrian. "Silversnap told me you prefer other sources."

Adrian wasn't sure if Silversnap mentioned that Hestia had been about to become one of those "sources". But she wanted to make a good impression on this flier with a coat like Aurora's, and if Silversnap hadn't revealed her bloodlust, Adrian would keep it a secret. Even if she had to eat fruit for the sake of that secret.

Adrian sat next to Silversnap, across from Hestia. Both looked rather amused, though Darius was perfectly calm. Using her wing, Adrian took a chunk of the waxy yell fruit from the main structure and held it hesitantly to her teeth. She held her breath to ignore the odor of dried organs, strained it through her fangs, and swallowed.

The effect in her stomach was revolting. Several times the fruit tried to make its way back up her throat, but she choked it down. She would not lose to a _plant,_ not even one so utterly alive in her stomach, thrashing around like it was going to tear a hole through her.

"Water." Silversnap said and set a small stone dish of water on the ground. Adrian lapped it up. The waterfall in her gusts lessened.

"You are Adrian, right?" Hestia asked softly. "Adrian, your bravery is certainly appreciated. I will eat if it will put my son- and your stomach- at rest." Hestia winked and took a large bite out of the fruit. By comparison, Adrian had only nicked the fruit and then eaten half of that.

"I never met a flier who could not eat fruit before," Darius said, hopping closer.

"Can I still be a flier if I cannot fly?" Adrian asked.

"Strange. How do you move, then?"

"I hop, like you. And Silversnap carries me for long trips."

"Adrian, you should learn to fly as soon as possible." Darius shook his head.

"Ah, I must ask of that," Hestia said. "Our lives in exchange for flying lessons? May I wonder, why so small a price?"

Adrian paused. Maybe if Silversnap wasn't here, she could risk the truth. All three in the cave had been good to her, but Silversnap may still reject her because she caused her mother pain. And even if she had finally met something else with wings, she still had reservations of the fliers. They didn't yet know of her diet, even if they could recite her prophecy forwards and backwards.

No, she had to keep the fliers' trust until they had given her the information she wanted. And she had to keep Silversnap's trust to keep herself alive.

"You are fliers," Adrian said simply, wishing she had a better response.

"Adrian hasn't seen a flier in many months," Silversnap said. "Possibly longer."

This was one of the opportunities that Silversnap gave her to explain herself. And this time, she had witnesses.

"My memories are vague. And so must yours be, because you have asked me about that too often," Adrian retorted. Darius and Silversnap looked amused.

"Ah, you've been too much around me." Silversnap shook her head with a slight laugh. "Tell you what. Why don't you take Darius out and show him around, since you're the only one who can?" She gestured to herself and the bedridden Hestia.

"Alright," Adrian said. Darius flew to the door, his wings fluttering with such a grace that Adrian couldn't help but stare.

When they had walked into the jungle and were far enough from the cave, Darius asked, "You have had a different life than I have, have you not?"

"I suppose. But I do not know what kind of life you have had," Adrian said.

"I was not living in a jungle; that I know."

"You shouldn't speak like that. Locklunge won't stand for it."

"Can Locklunge do this?" Darius flung himself into the air and landed upside-down on a tall branch made of some vines. His talons kept him suspended, and he dangled by them.

"Get down!" Adrian called. He smirked and let go, but had righted himself by the time he hit the ground. "Do not trust the jungle," She said.

"Why?"

"…Because some things are not what they seem."

"Like the gnawers?"

"Sort of. ….Darius?"

"Yes?"

"Teach me to do that." She pointed vaguely to the branch he had hung onto.

"That is why I am here." He grinned, but soon examined her anxiously. "I am not sure I am fit to teach, though."

"You are all I have," She said.

"I will try, until Hestia is healed. Are you sure you cannot wait?"

"I am sure," Adrian agreed without thought. It appeared she was born to fly; what could hold her from it now?

"Very well," Darius shrugged. "…I do not suppose you have much strength in your wings?"

"I have been told I am strong." She bit her lip. He examined her for a moment, then spoke.

"We will see. Flap your wings a little. Like this." His wings rose, stretched to their full length, and waved forward and back fiercely. Adrian tried to mimic him, but toppled over when her wings stroked back.

"Alright," Darius helped her up, trying not to laugh. "There is one thing you should know before I see if you can take it off. My father taught it to me."

"I thought your mother taught you to fly?"

"What about yours?" Darius snapped back, but recovered his kinder tone. "Hestia taught me the basics, but my father told me of a few tricks. He is a flier that helps Regalia's army."

"An army?" Adrian had only heard the word used by Locklunge. She assumed it had to do with fighting, which had to do with pain, which had to do with _her._

"A group of creatures trained and sent off to kill other creatures," Darius explained. "You know about war, right?"

"I know that the gnawers and the fliers are in one."

"The humans too. The fliers fly the humans into battle, and the humans try to protect the fliers. Sometimes it doesn't work, and the gnawers kill the flier or the human."

"Is that what happened to your father?"

Darius smiled dryly. "That is for me to know, and for you to bargain for."

"Your price?"

"I want to know where you were before you were with the gnawers, and why you joined them."

"That is one answer for two." Adrian frowned. "Why must you know?"

"You are in the care of the creatures we consider enemies. I may be suspicious."

"Just teach me the move, Darius," Adrian said, exasperated.

"It is an emergency landing, for this who are so injured they cannot go on. But fliers like us use it as a last resort when we do not know how to control our wings. It is called the Icarus maneuver."

"Can you show me?"

"Not yet. But I will tell you this. There are three steps: coast, angle, turn. Coast up into a slope, almost as if you are trying to touch the rock above us. Angle your strongest- or least injured- wing towards the ground. And turn in circles until you are landed."

"That is all?"

"That is all. Come, I think I can teach you how to take off. Stand here."

"Any reason?"

"There is nothing between you and the branch you will fly to. Tense your legs, you will use them to launch when you have no running space. Hold out your wings as far as you can, angle them towards the branch- your face too- and…there."

Adrian felt like a fool, stuck in a valiant pose without any valiant feelings in her. The branch of vines began to look a lot less stable, and from her experience, it may not be vines at all.

"You will be fine," Darius chuckled. Adrian tried to believe him.

"When I say so, push your legs against the ground and flap your wings as much as you can. I believe you know to cling once you reach the branch. …Now."

Adrian pushed, and almost fell on her face. Her wings, flapping madly, actually kept her on balance, and though her talons clenched, there was nothing to cling to. Her heart beat faster and faster as her wings fluttered, and she zoomed towards the vines at a speed only gnawers could match on the ground. Air rushed by and flattened her fur, her wings groaned as if they had just been grown, she felt an urge to turn to see just how small Darius-

_Smack._

Adrian lost her breath flying into the bough of the vine and fell halfway to the ground, trying to straighten herself amidst the plants that stretched out to catch her.

"Through the vines!" A voice called from above. "Get above them!"

She turned her belly towards the ground and began to catch the air on her wings. Slowly, as though every bit of air she pushed down was trying to force her to the ground, she worked her way to the gap above, where the vines wouldn't go. Finally, her head popped up into the dark voice. One final thrust of her wings and she had clumsily jerked herself above the jungle.

"Do not fight the current," Darius said, coasting around her once. "It is light, but I would not test your strength further."

"What is going on?" She gasped as the invisible force soaked its warm self into her wings, guiding her across the top of the jungle. Nothing looked vicious from here. And yet, secretly, she was scared. Nothing had been so far away from her; the space- the cold- dark, unyielding space- could swallow her.

Darius, as if sensing her unease, glided so close to her that his wings overlapped hers. Neither of them had to stroke because the warm current cruised them over the jungle, almost as a favor to two inexperienced fliers. Adrian, however, wondered now just how much Darius had flown in his life that was so different from hers.

"The currents will take us anywhere in the Underland, if we know which to us. And if we let them," Darius said. "I have never heard of a current we could not use, though there have been rumors amongst the well-traveled fliers."

"Where?" Adrian was instantly tense.

"Near the Firelands, during harsher times. The warrior- who aids Regalia as we speak- is said to have ridden currents with no flier."

"Is that good?"

"Remarkable, more like." There was a pause. Adrian couldn't take her eyes off of the jungle below. Her wings retracted a little closer into her sides when she saw something move, as she was wont to do in a dangerous situation on the ground.

"It is not so bad," She muttered to herself, "if the warrior can do it…"

"Adrian, we must return to the gnawers' territory." Darius sighed, like it really was a shame to return to Adrian's home and safety. "Angle your wings left. But do not face down."

He swooped in a graceful arc and fluttered higher before catching a new, slightly stronger current that yanked him away from Adrian. He made himself thin against the winds and waited for her. She made a hairpin turn, flying almost vertically before the new current caught her wings like sails and thrust her into Darius.

"Sorry!" She called as he distanced himself a few inches apart from her wingspan.

"You should try the currents at home. With much less light."

"Where is home to you?"

"A small area for fliers, near to Regalia. Fliers go there to start families, except for one flier who steals into his cave at night and sometimes for weeks on end."

Adrian had a feeling he was only telling her to distract her from her heartbeat in her ears as she flew for the first time. Somehow, a conversation sounded better. "Why does he hide?"

"He does not come out to tell anyone, and we are too far away for him to hear our questions. Some say he is a traitor, though if the Regalian queen and her flier will visit, I do not think he could have done serious wrong."

"How do you know it is the Regalian queen?"

"She comes into the cave on her golden flier."

Golden flier?

"Golden flier?" Adrian squeaked out.

"Yes, a flier with a beautiful gold coat. Rather like Hestia's, but it shines in the light just like the queen's headband. But then the flier and the queen disappeared, and soon, so did the flier they visited. Of course, few could tell. The most we saw of him was a black shadow swooping in or out every once in a while, and we were quite a distance away."

A black shadow…marked as a traitor, or so everyone said. Visited by a golden flier and a queen. What had Cevian called Luxa all those nights ago?

"What do you know of the flier?" Adrian asked, her voice lowering lest someone wonder why she asked.

"I suppose he was made a traitor when the warrior arrived. The flier killed his bond so the warrior could replace him, some say. Others say the flier saved the warrior and left his bond to die."

"What is a bond?"

"It is what you call a flier and a human who bonded, which is when a flier and a human hold their claw and hand together- you know what a hand is, right? Good. And then they recite an oath promising to save each other's lives."

"Do all fliers do this?"

"No, they do not have to. In fact, I do not think I will bond. I do not think anyone would trust me with their life. But it is rarer to have two bonds than no bond at all, because this means that you let one of your bonds die. This is why it is such an oddity and a shame that the black flier has two bonds, his old one that died and the warrior."

"Alright. What about the black flier?"

"Well, any way you tell the stories, the flier and the warrior bonded, and when neither of them killed the Bane- a white gnawer who leads the war we fight now- …well, the flier and the warrior are lucky they are needed in battle today, or they would have been executed for treason against Regalia. There was a point when the golden flier and the queen were missing, and soon the black flier was too. They are all back, though, cleaning up that mess that is the Bane. I saw the black flier, when Hestia and I fled. He carried baby nibblers, taking them to safety. Maybe to make up for his bond not killing the Bane when he had the chance."

"What is his name? The black flier?"

"Adrian, you seem a little-"

"Please."

"-distracted. Maybe you need to-"

"Darius…"

"I am only saying, on a first flight, one's strength-"

"I am _fine._ Curious. What is his name?" Adrian tried to be patient. But she was getting hungry for blood and for knowledge. Both made her edgy.

"I cannot be sure….oh…Apollo? No…Achilles? No, it was two syllables, starting with-"

"Ares?"

"That is it! Ares the traitor, Ares of the flight team, Ares and Gregor the Overlander…that is him."

Adrian sucked in the current, and it came out in a shaky, joyous breath. Aurora had used that name in her stories, those stories warped in Darius's eyes because he had not been there. Ares had saved the Overland warrior because his bond was a traitor. Ares had seem Aurora, had spoken with her and told her of the adventures that lived as a legacy in Adrian's soul. Ares had saved nibbler pups, as nibblers had saved his daughter!

"Why do you laugh, Adrian?" Darius interrupted her thoughts, and she turned to him, beaming.

"Is that what this is?" She said between bits of breath that sounded like "huh-huh-huh" and shook her entire body as if bubbles were popping beneath her skin. "One more question- which current leads to Regalia?"

That brought on a new chorus of laughs, and soon, even Darius was not immune to Adrian's euphoric state. By the time they used the Icarus maneuver to land in front of the gnawers, both were giggling and hiccupping, and watching each other hiccup and giggling some more.

Silversnap hardly waited for Adrian to land before lifting her into a strangling hug. "_What happened?_"

"Darius taught me to fly," Adrian said, hiccupping.

"First I ever- _hic_- saw her smile!" Darius said.

"Sorry we didn't tell you." Adrian wrapped her wings around Silversnap's neck. Honestly, she would have kissed a twister in her glee. Ares! Saving nibblers! Still alive! In a war, but alive none the less.

"I'll tell Locklunge. He's been searching the jungle for you, I may add." Silversnap set Adrian down, her defenses vaporized by Adrian's childlike happiness. "Go rest."

After a personal guarantee to Locklunge from Darius _and_ his mother that Adrian would never leave the jungle, flying lessons continued for two more days. But when Adrian's heart stopped back-flipping at the thought of her estranged father, she began to have even more restless dreams. Before, there had been twisters and nibblers and flier-eating fruit. Now they faded into the background as visions of war and her parents danced in center stage.

A human that looked strangely like Luxa- the only human Adrian had seen- left a black lump named Ares bleeding on the ground. A white gnawer rode Darius (whose talons were bound together) and chased Hestia carrying half a dozen baby nibblers. Silversnap offered Aurora on a platter to Adrian. Locklunge snapped Ares' neck and threw the body into a faraway cave.

It was on the day that Darius had taught Adrian to turn on a pin without faltering that Adrian had this dream. She, Aurora, and Ares were together in a cave overlooking a structure with great gray stone walls. Her parents were discussing the Prophecy of Trap and how Adrian could be safe from it when Aurora was pulled away screaming by vines. Ares looked away. Adrian found herself hidden behind a rock, and peeked behind it to see Ares being held only by his neck by a white gnawer that dwarfed even Ares' wingspan. The white gnawer said something and tore Ares in half. Both Adrian and a tan human screamed without sound, moments before it happened.

Adrian woke, panting. The cave was still dark, the fliers and gnawers nestled nearby. Adrian sat up.

"_I shouldn't. No one will let me,_" She thought to herself, wobbling towards Hestia's backpack, which Silversnap had filled with supplies like food and water in case Hestia needed a quick fix. "_But then_," Adrian reasoned as she inched the pack onto one of her wings, "_no one has had my problem before._"

"Darius," she whispered to her sleeping friend, "come fly with me."

**Oh great, what's she doing now...**

**Please review!**


	6. iw Two Fliers Have their First Quest

**Anyone want to wonder why I'm up this late? (*raises hand*)**

**My thanks to coyearth and Darkrider013 for their reviews! God, I love reviews so much, I...oh, forget it, who's really going to read this? But it should be known that I love reviews and they persuade me to update sooner. Because I have the next chapter ready by the time I post its predecessor, so I only withhold them for the fun of it.**

**Chapter 6: In Which Two Pups Have their First Quest**

"What are you doing?" Darius asked when they were coasting a fair distance above the jungle.

"Darius…I need you to help me," Adrian sighed. She had to trust him. Not with the entire truth. Not yet. But images of her parents and her stories and the world beyond the jungle tumbled in her head so violently that she had to tell someone. Someone who could help.

"You saved my life. You know I will help as much as I can," Darius said softly.

"Good, because I fear you may not. I need your promise."

"Why would I not help?"

"Everyone wants to help me. Silversnap, Locklunge, everyone who knows I live. But they do not understand that what I want them to do could actually be best for me."

"But they know what you want, right? Even if they will not give it to you, they know?"

"…I have not told them. But I know they will not, for whatever the reason."

"Would this thing you need to have to do with the fact that the end of the jungle is on the horizon?"

Adrian looked up and saw a line where the green vines would go no further. The current had pushed them faster than she thought it would. "Darius? Do you think we will be safe, away from the jungle?"

"If Hestia's bag has enough supplies, we may be able to avoid most dangers beyond. Most." Darius's eyes widened as he put everything together. "Does this mean-"

"Take me to Regalia," Adrian said, grinning at the taste the words brought to her. "Promise me you will."

"_What?_" Darius jerked up, surprised, and slowed down.

"I can explain, and I will. But we must keep flying before the gnawers wake and try to take us back!"

"My mother is back there. I cannot leave her!"

"We will not be gone long, or hurt on the way. You said yourself that with the right supplies, we would live. I have supplies here." Adrian nodded to the bag strapped near her back. "Please, Darius, I cannot wait. You are the key I need to find my parents."

The border of the jungle was almost beneath them. Darius was silent with thought, and Adrian supposed it was the mention of her parents that made him consider. She held her breath, staring at the vast, rocky plain ahead of them. Darius could guide her through. He may even be able to locate Ares and Aurora in the gigantic, guarded, stone structure that she knew as Regalia. Even now, she flew closer than ever to the home she never knew.

"Very well," Darius said. "If you will explain to me this death wish of yours, I will guide you as best I can. And hopefully I can keep us both from harm, or die trying."

"It is not a death wish," Adrian said, more thrilled than annoyed. "Oh, Darius! Thank you. I will not let us die, do not worry. Once we find my parents, they will take us in and care for us. We could have light, just like Aurora said! And it will be amazing. My parents will not be expecting you, but they will take care of you, all because you brought me to them. Your debt will be paid, too."

"Wait! I…I do not understand. Who is Aurora, who said you would have light?"

"Aurora, my mother. She has a golden coat, and I believe she may be bond to the queen. Is her name Luxa?"

"Yes, Queen Luxa of the humans," Darius muttered, gazing at Adrian's golden stripe on her back. "But your fur…who is your father?"

"Ares. Ares who hides in the cave."

"Really! You are daughter to a traitor? No wonder you hid in the jungle. But if Aurora was bonded to a queen-"

"Ares was not a traitor," Adrian said firmly. "He let his bond die because his bond was sided with gnawers, and the Overlander was fighting them. Ares told Aurora, who told me."

"But why did he not kill the Bane?"

"I…I do not know. I think he and Aurora were separated when that happened." Adrian felt very uneasy, and turned back to the jungle, fading behind her. Aurora could still be there, broken and immobile! Why had she never thought of it? Should she fly to Regalia for Ares, or-

Darius noted her sudden glance backward. "I thought you wanted to leave."

"Aurora may be there still."

"Aurora returned to Regalia with Queen Luxa and a party that had gone into the jungle to find the cure to a plague. I told you this."

Adrian stopped craning her neck, but still remained doubtful. "Can Aurora fly?"

"Of course." Darius looked at her strangely. "Why would she not?"

"…I have not seen my mother fly before," Adrian confessed part of the truth. "That is part of why I saved your life. I had not met a flier other than Aurora, let alone one who used his wings for more than balance."

"And your father? Have you seen him?"

"Never." Adrian paused. "I only know of him from stories. Aurora would tell them to me to entertain me, and though I was only just born, I understood them somehow. I would like to meet Ares, and see if all Aurora said is true. And I miss my mother, who was with me for only a few days before the gnawers had me. ...This all must sound strange to you, but my parents feel so important to me that it is ridiculous."

Darius was quiet a moment. "You only knew your mother for a few days."

"Yes."

"And you never had a father at all?"

"I have one. I only need to find him."

"I will not say others have had it worse. I had been with Hestia for most of my life, until we were separated by the jungle. But you may not need a father."

"Why not?"

"…I never had much of a father. Yes, he shared a few flight tactics with me. But there was so much war in Regalia, and when he was not delivering messages between armies and camps, he was in the hospital. And one time the hospital could not wake him. Adrian, I was fine, even though he had died. Hestia was the upset one, and she flew us away from Regalia so we would not be taken by the gnawers that my father failed to run from. But I do not cry for my father, because I hardly knew him. Ares is in the same war, Adrian. He may go up against the Bane himself, and from what I know, the odds may not be in his favor. It may be better for you to keep your distance, because if he dies, you do not need to face grief for him."

Flashes of Adrian's last dream danced behind her eyelids: a white gnawer shredding a black flier in half.

"If he is to die," Adrian said, her voice trembling on the last word, "it is better for me to have known a father than to have lost a stranger."

Darius sighed.

"So what are these stories that make you want to find your parents?"

It had been so long since Adrian had heard those stories, and she had never had to retell them. Her stomach rumbled, and Darius wordlessly coasted down into the shadows. Adrian followed, stalling for time, but as air rushed past her, her senses screamed for her to stop. "Do not trust a place without light!" the gnawers had told her. In the jungle, light radiated from the ground like heat. But here it was cold, and darker than Adrian's fur. It wasn't right.

The ground caught Adrian by surprise, and she stumbled to find a hold on the incredibly sharp rocks. She cried out in shock, a call that somehow came back to her. With pictures. She fell onto her stomach from the rough landing and made an "oof" sound. The noise boomed from her mouth, and she could somehow determine where she was. The walls of the cavern were so far away that it took a few seconds for her to see them. Pebbles and boulders were scattered on the floor, and one met her in the face. Darius moved, about twenty feet away, reaching for the bag that had fallen from Adrian. The bag had a certain red tinge, but was rapidly blending into the gray surroundings.

"Darius!" Adrian called. "I can see!" And sure enough, there he was.

"I can too." Darius righted himself onto his feet.

"What happened to our bag? It looked a little more colorful a few seconds ago."

"…Oh." Darius looked down to the bag and hobbled towards Adrian to help her up. "Most of the Underland will be very similar to this, actually. Not like you know in the jungle. So it is good you found echolocation so quickly."

"Echolo-what?"

"Speak again."

"Why?" And then she knew, for in that moment that she spoke, the sound reverberated off of everything and came back to her with information not unlike what she had seen before.

"It is how we fliers can survive in dark places like this. Although most of us use a pitch that some ears cannot hear, so we can be hidden and still see. That could come in time. I cannot even do it yet." He took some food from the pack with his teeth, using his talons to hold the bag open. "You have got to be hungry."

Adrian shook her head.

"Well?"

Oh, right. He couldn't see unless he made noise. "No, thank you."

"I am beginning to wonder if you can eat at all." Darius bit into a piece of fruit that Silversnap had cut into chunks for Hestia's benefit. Adrian bit her lip. She could handle hunger for up to a week, that much she knew; when the gnawers first had her, they tried to feed her fruit before she nibbled Locklunge in her frustration. She had fed two days ago, while Hestia and Locklunge had been negotiating her flying lessons. Could Darius take her to Regalia before she lost control?

"What is wrong?" Darius asked. She couldn't see his expression without light, but he seemed concerned.

"I need to get to Regalia soon," She muttered.

"You may actually eat if your parents were here," He agreed, laughing slightly. "But I do not think I will be there to see it."

"What? Why not?"

"I want to come back for Hestia. She will be worried beyond belief. And your gnawers may not want to keep her alive, since it appears that I have kidnapped you."

Adrian's eyes widened. "Really?"

"What exactly have you told the gnawers about your parents?"

"Nothing…oh, I did not know. I should not have gotten you into this trouble…" She fluttered her wings anxiously.

"Please, relax." Darius sat closer to her. She gave a "meep" in surprise and noticed that he was smiling. "Hestia is wise, and I will be away only a few days. Your parents can come help settle things if you feel better about it. But let me worry about Hestia."

"I saved Hestia because she resembles my mother so much," Adrian said forlornly. "Even when I knew she was your mother and not mine, I still worried for her."

"Hestia is different. She does not tell stories like Aurora does, I think?" Darius said.

Adrian took in a deep breath. She had to trust him. He was trying to help her, if only by distracting her with thoughts of her own mother. "My favorite story is the one when Ares and Aurora first met."

"Oh?"

"Yes, Aurora was flying around Regalia for the first time by herself. She was a little older than you and me. And she flew near a cave, and she knew something had moved in it. She sat down in front of the mouth, pretending to rest and stretch her wings. And finally, she spoke something like…'may I come in?' And it echoed, and she saw a young flier close to her age, trying to hide behind a rock."

"What did they do?"

"There was a pause, then the flier came out, and he had a coat as…" Adrian frowned. "Well, as dark as how this place would look without echoes. And he said in a low voice something like, 'would a golden flier want to enter such a dark place?' Aurora thinks he was trying to compliment her coat, but he did not know how to. She entered, just to prove that she could. The boy flier had been hiding there for ages, you understand. He seemed to avoid every other flier, and no one cared enough to notice a pup. But Aurora noticed. So the flier introduced himself- Ares, of course- and he showed her the supplies he had been gathering for what he wanted to be his new home. Aurora tried to ask what he would want a new home for, but he grew silent, so she asked if he would like to join her on her flight."

"How did that go?"

"They were silent for the most part. Aurora said Ares flew like…" What were the words? "Like flying was his life. She said it looked so natural for him to be there, and for the lights to flicker off of his black fur. She took him with her to meet Luxa, who was finishing a lesson, but she did not want to watch him stop flying. She said that he almost pained himself trying to speak to Luxa, but he flew over them when Luxa asked to ride Aurora. It was like he wanted to protect her. Or both of them, but I think Ares wanted to watch Aurora fly, too. It must be very nice to watch her, since she had her golden fur.

"Ares went to Aurora and Luxa's bonding ceremony, and Aurora thought he looked uncomfortable with all the humans and fliers. But Luxa's cousin Henry stayed with Ares to keep him company, and when they came of age, they bonded too. Aurora said it was good for Ares to have a bond, because he is very strong and smart and he needed to be able to show that to others. And then Aurora went on to tell me how the Overlander came in and Henry turned out to be sided with the gnawers."

"You mentioned that, yes."

"Well…Ares was not a traitor. Henry was considered worse; he wanted to build a bond with the gnawers only to gain power. It is not Ares's fault."

"I know. You have convinced me of that." Darius stood up. "Perhaps we can ask him what he thought when he first met Aurora. I am sure he would have an interesting answer."

"That is what I want," Adrian said as they took off into the open air. "He may tell me stories, too. Maybe he can teach me how to use our strength, also."

"I knew it!" Darius grinned. "I knew you were strong! No other flier could learn to take off without some sort or strengthening exercise."

"So why did you teach me right then?"

"Somehow, I knew you were special."

"…What sort of special?"

"The gnawers listened to you. That in itself is a feat," Darius chuckled. Adrian remained silent, the way she always did when anyone referred to her secrets.

Yes, she had shared with Darius one aspect of her memories. But that was a pleasant one; he was still flying smoothly, deep in thought but not traumatized by anything she had said. He didn't know the worst of it yet.

The next few hours passed fretfully for Adrian. She was hungry, her wings began to waver every other minute from fatigue, and glimpses of Darius's reaction to her worser secrets (blood-drinking) haunted her every time she closed her eyelids. She kept herself occupied by imagining what she would say to Ares and Aurora. Thinking of Aurora was harder. What would she say to the mother whose wing she broke? What could she ask without appearing to accuse her of abandoning her daughter? And Ares. Aurora had said he was different from most fliers. But how? And how would she reveal herself to someone that had never met her before? Did he know she was alive? Did Aurora? Were they looking for her? Adrian began to make any sound she could think of every so often just to see if she could find them. She stopped whenever she began to worry what they would do if they found her.

Darius would clear his throat once in a while, and Adrian would think harder about her parents.

"You should rest," Darius finally said. By then, Adrian was gliding, and he had a headache from thinking of imaginary conversations. She had dreamed of a few ways to gently tell Darius about what she was- she only hoped the Prophecy of Trap didn't make her sound like a monster- but she only had energy to mumble something about landing.

"Here," Darius swooped down to a cove forged by two rocks that overlooked the cavern. She followed, landed on her stomach, and almost fell asleep there. He nudged her farther against the walls and lay next to her.

"_Warm_," Adrian thought as his brown fur rubbed against her black fur. It was a good thing, to sleep in company of a flier, she concluded before drifting to a- thankfully- dreamless sleep.

**Kay, so this is mostly filler. But the next chapter actually has the Prophecy of Trap recited, and other big things important to Adrian (hint hint). Yay! 'Bout time, too...**

**Please review! Even if you want to tell me something is wrong. At this point, I'd take even that.**


	7. iw War Affects More than Strangers

**My thanks to coyearth, Darkrider013, and saacool gregor and percy rocks for their reviews! They're only too much fun to read and they really make my day. So, without further time spent, the chapter is here to signify my gratitude.**

**Hey, did you know that this is the second-to-last chapter in Part One? That was fast...**

**Chapter Seven: In Which War Affects More than Strangers**

"Adrian?"

Adrian stirred, but closed her eyes against the new light.

"Uh…there are some creatures here that you should meet."

"Creatures?" A new voice asked, almost offended.

"I do not think she would recognize a nibbler," Darius said sheepishly. "She was raised in the jungle, though for how long I cannot say."

"We have colonies in the jungle," Another voice said. "A cousin of mine was run into there by gnawers, and she found more of our kind living there. But what was the young flier doing there?"

"She will not say," Darius said. "I do not think she trusts me just yet." He nudged her slightly. "Adrian? Will you wake?"

Adrian opened her eyes into slits, surprised by the light that appeared to be from torches (another human-made supply that the gnawers had shown her). Darius's face loomed over her, and just behind him, a large nose twitched. What had he said? She wouldn't recognize…

"Nibblers!" She whispered, her eyes shooting open. She sat up, ignoring the rush of blood from her head, and stared at the two lumbering forms that stood just behind Darius. One- a reddish brown nibbler- rubbed his whiskers in thought at her, much like Locklunge tapped his tooth. They both looked leader-like in the way that they considered what had been set before them. The other nibbler with a creamy coat (she carried the torch) studied Adrian with casual curiosity.

"So she _does_ know a nibbler," The leader-like nibbler said to Darius, and then gave a sort of bow to Adrian. "I am Tangent, leader of the nibblers of the Fount."

"Where?" Adrian asked.

"If you know Regalia, the Fount is a city nearby," The cream-colored nibbler said and bowed. "I am Grid."

"Darius says you fly to Regalia to meet your parents," Tangent said. "I have offered to send you with an escort, but he leaves the decision to you."

Adrian blinked. "Well…I suppose I do not know if my parents are in Regalia at all. Darius last saw my father in battle. I should like to meet him, even there."

"No, flier." Grid shook her head (Adrian thought she was a girl). "You have not seen a battle, and you should not in your lifetime, if you are lucky. We will take you to Regalia."

"Your mother may be there," Darius said before Adrian could protest. "Queen Luxa may not be allowed into battle, let alone her bond."

"Queen Luxa began this war the moment the gnawers were chasing us. I believe she would want to oversee it," Tangent said, and then paused and turned to Adrian. "Your mother is bonded to Queen Luxa?"

"Yes. Her name is Aurora," She said.

"Her father is Ares, bonded to the warrior," Darius added. Tangent and Grid's eyes widened.

"The traitor," Grid whispered. "The daughter of the traitor. Tangent, it is she with the golden stripe!"

Tangent examined Adrian, and spoke to Darius. "What does she eat?"

"I do not know. She refuses fruit, though," Darius said.

"…Grid? Take Darius and see if we have anything he will eat," Tangent said. Darius caught Adrian's eye, confused about the dismissal, but upon seeing her fear, he smiled as if it would all be well. Adrian worried about what Tangent knew about her. Grid and Darius left.

"If the boy knew what you are, that is the first thing he would have told us," Tangent said. He never took his eyes off of Adrian. "I suppose you have not told him that you are the blood-drinker."

Adrian shook her head.

"Will you drink from him?"

"No. He is taking me to find my parents."

"Will you drink from me? Because I have no trouble harming a young flier."

"No. Nibblers have saved my life before."

Tangent stroked his whiskers. "Why are you denying what you are? Many have tried to evade prophecies, and it has never worked."

"Aurora said she would teach me to be good. And Ares will help me control myself." Adrian didn't know why, but in one minute she had told a nibbler more than she had told Darius in days. But Tangent had probably seen stranger things in his life than Darius had. He may have a better reaction to abnormalities simply because he was a leader and had to deal with his clan's problems. Locklunge certainly dealt with strange things.

"Do you know what your prophecy says, young one?" Tangent asked.

Adrian blinked. "I…I suppose I do not." She had never considered exactly what was said of her. All she knew was that the gnawers thought she was good, and everyone else thought she was dangerous, and _everyone_ thought she was special.

Tangent recited the prophecy in a paced tone:

"_**Bred by traitor, born in vines,  
**__**Clad in black save one gold line,  
**__**Haunted by the nameless dead,  
**__**The blood-drinker will rear its head.**_

_**Blood-drinker found, the trap is set  
**__**But neither side is darkened yet.  
**__**Blood-drinker and rager conquer night  
**__**And save who gave the flier light.**_

_**Above, the rager must be taken  
**__**Lest a part be long mistaken.  
**__**His princesses must ask and Seek  
**__**The army led by up and beneath.**_

_**Two leaders join, their minds deceived,  
**__**Blood-drinker and rager make enemies.  
**__**But one Peacemaker and his bond  
**__**Can save at the battle the one who chose wrong.**_

_**Among the leads, two deaths impend  
**__**Unless they both will make amends.  
**__**The leaders' hearts will seal their fates.  
**__**One wrong decision seals the gates.**_"

Adrian's eyes widened.

"I am…I am supposed to decide the winner of a _war?_"

Tangent nodded. "And from the mention of 'the rager', you will lead an army with another creature."

"But I have never seen a war."

"Well…you will have to have some experience. So I will take you to the battlefield, but also because your mother is missing."

"She is? Why?"

"No one knows. The queen disappeared too, perhaps so others could lead the battle that we are to go to now. You may find your father there, since your mother is…unavailable."

"Darius and I will find him. Then we may search for my mother." Adrian stood up.

Tangent laughed. "Blood-drinker, have you a plan once your father is found?"

Adrian frowned. She hadn't reached any conclusions in her thoughts yet. She kept thinking about Aurora and Darius, and how they would greet her as a blood-drinker. She had been sure Ares would accept her, but now she didn't have a clue.

"I…will ask him to take us to Regalia. We will find my mother, and Darius can go back for his own mother."

"And?"

"…I will eat."

That aroused Tangent rather quickly. "We must hurry, then. My army travels to the Plain of Tartarus, where our ambush of the gnawers will begin. You and Darius will fly above us. Do not speak to my troops, lest they find what your stripe means."

After Tangent, Adrian left the crevice they had been speaking in, and she was greeted with many wary looks from the nibblers. She had never seen so many nibblers- about forty- but suspected there would be more still where she was going. So she didn't comment.

"What did Tangent want?" Darius murmured as she approached him. She didn't trust herself to take off alone.

"He wanted to know about my parents."

"There was something else…" He said. Luckily, at that moment, Tangent called, "to the battle!" and neither of them exchanged a word beyond takeoff.

At least, not until they reached the place where something either very good or very bad would happen.

The smell reached Adrian first. There were no currents, so the scent of rotten eggs wafted up from the foul river that the nibblers were following. Adrian could hear paws hitting stone ahead of them, and soon she could even catch a faint coppery scent. Blood.

"Brace yourself," Darius whispered when they approached an arch-like doorway at the end of the hall. Adrian saw nothing past it, so she let out a sort of whistle as they landed near Tangent at the arch's mouth.

The image that returned was strange. "Gnawers? Here?"

"Recovering. Fixing their wounds from other battles," Darius explained.

"Where are the other forces?" Adrian asked. She really meant to ask for Ares, but began to wish he wouldn't appear. No one could defeat so many gnawers.

"We _are_ the other forces. Crawlers and spinners and gnawers who allied themselves with us are all here in the walls of the cavern."

"Why do they not attack?"

"My guess would be that they are waiting for a signal."

"We are," Tangent said, coming closer to them. "And until the signal comes, we must not be heard." Darius and Adrian sunk a little closer to the ground sheepishly.

"You two will stay here until you see Ares." Grid followed Tangent and spoke to Darius and Adrian. "And then you will wait until it is safe enough to approach him. I will follow while you go out to-"

"Look!" Darius said, and everyone followed his gaze after registering the sound of leathery wings behind them. Soaring closer to them was the largest group of fliers Adrian had ever seen. They had wingspans that sometimes touched both walls of the hallway, and most were darkly colored with large, dripping lumps in their talons. And humans rode them! Humans who had most everything but their faces covered in shiny plates of metal. Swords and daggers glinted in the torchlight provided by a few human riders. Adrian had never seen such a multitude or variety of creatures.

She watched, speechless, as the fliers swooped over the nibbler army and spread out in the cavern like a canopy over the oblivious gnawers. The fliers dropped what they carried, and as the dripping lumps hit the ground, they burst into a fire so bright that she closed her eyes.

Some of the gnawers cried out in alarm, and Adrian's stomach lurched as a gnawer rolled on his back, completely ablaze. She could almost hear his heartbeat fade as the flames tore through his fur and left a skeleton.

Tangent roared, and soon the entire nibbler army stampeded past Adrian. She was thoroughly confused when the nibblers started slashing at those already wounded. They hacked at the gnawers with such malice, as if they were scum, or food! The humans dived in with the fliers and were wreaking havoc amongst the gnawers healed enough to fight. A gnawer yanked a flier down by the talon and sent its rider falling towards the gnawer's blood-thirsty friends. A human cut clean through a gnawer's paw, and blood spewed from the wound. Flat ovals with six legs- crawlers, she learned- trampled over bodies gasping for breath, and torsos with eight hairy legs- spinners- injected venom into their foes using razor-sharp fangs. The gnawers retaliated with spectacular force, using their claws, their strength, and their agility to rip heads off of bodies.

Why would they _do_ this?

"Ares is not here yet," Darius said.

"How would you know if he was?" Adrian muttered, and broke her gaze from the gruesome spectacle. "Darius, how could your father be a part of this?"

"Yours is too," Darius said, almost matter-of-factly. But from the way he scanned the air, Adrian knew he could not help but wince as someone from their side was hurt. …No, it was _his_ side. Adrian pitied the gnawers as much as anyone else out there.

"They cannot fight," Adrian said. "They can help each other!"

"Can we?" Grid said. "The gnawers have done us many wrongs. They try to kill the nibblers for territorial gain, and they constantly attack Regalia-"

"For food!" Adrian blurted. "What of the Garden of the Hesperides, and the plague that the humans gave to the gnawers?"

"Your father was struck with the plague," Grid said. "He was the first case in Regalia."

"Ares could never catch the plague!"

"The warrior went on a quest to find the cure, if only to save Ares," Darius said numbly. "…And his mother," He added.

"No, Ares cannot get the plague, he is too strong. And Aurora would have gotten it from him, and she did not." Adrian was standing up by now. How dare they lie?

"Regardless, the gnawers have caught it. And this is what became of it." Grid gestured to the battlefield, which had fallen into a frenzy of blood. Both sides were too driven towards revenge to surrender, but they were too exhausted to see what they were doing. Gnawers were harming gnawers, spinners were confusing nibblers with gnawers, humans were slashing wildly at anything they could find. One human maimed its own flier in a missed stroke. And why? They were hungry and crowded and upset about fighting over the food and the room. Both sides were treated unjustly, and Adrian couldn't even begin to choose which side should win. The winners were only going to treat the losers poorly, and that'd spark a new fight.

Why did they want her to choose who would win?

Adrian began to tremble. She hardly knew how to fly hardly, hardly knew who to trust, hardly knew how to control herself. Forget about help. Who would help a flier who maimed her mother? Who would help a flier who drank blood?

"The warrior!" Grid crowed. "He lives! I knew he did!"

"And there is Ares," Darius said to Adrian. "The large one. To the right."

Adrian leaped to the mouth of the cave, looked right, and beamed. There near the mouth of the cave, carrying a small human wearing black, was a flier with a wingspan that dwarfed most every creature there. He flew so smoothly above the battle, but so quickly toward a cave. His fur was as black as Adrian's, though he had some scars where fur was only sprouting. He jerked around in less than a second, coasting toward a large white gnawer that had popped out of a cave and started following him.

Ares.

Wait, what was going on? Ares drifted closer to the white gnawer, almost teasing him, and then flashed away as the gnawer swiped at him with a claw. Too close. What was he doing? He was almost pinned against the wall of the cave!

"Come!" Adrian cried and took a flying leap off of the edge of the entrance. She narrowly averted a pair of spinners, and swooped up until her back was almost touching the ceiling of the cave, apart from the action. Grid's cry of "no!" hardly registered in her mind. Where was Ares? The white gnawer- probably the Bane- was running towards the heart of the battle, and if he was after Ares and the warrior-

"The left!" Darius shouted, chasing her tail. "Into the cave!"

Adrian was about to protest; why would she hide now? But when she saw Ares streak into the opening of the cave like a black blur, she followed without another thought.

Somehow, this wasn't about finding her father anymore. It felt direr than that, because she now knew what was at stake. Ares was fighting for his life against this gnawer that stumbled as if intoxicated and roared as if completely mad. This was the Bane, who led the gnawers into battle, and yet could not keep his balance. The Bane had some sort of grudge, and he had mistaken Ares as someone to take revenge on. And Adrian had to stop him however she could. Ares was all she had.

The two young fliers shot into a tall cavern, their eyes never straying from Ares, the warrior, and the Bane. Adrian was ready to keep up the chase, but Darius flew in front of her and slowed her.

"We must hide in the rocks, or the Bane will find us!" He hissed. Adrian swerved up the tall cavern walls, almost as if it caused her physical pain. They searched for a landing place for a few moments, while she fretted and panted and begged her heart to slow before the Bane heard. But the Bane and his targets were nowhere to be seen.

"My tail!"

Oh, that was the Bane, alright. Only one voice could sound so completely demented.

Darius tried to halt Adrian once more, but she was careful to distance herself a good fifteen feet away from the plateau behind some large boulders. Darius landed precariously next to her, and together they peeked from behind the boulder.

The Bane was chasing the stub on his rump where a tail should be, but where a bloody lump actually lay. Ares and the human who must be the warrior were standing side by side, and a silver-colored gnawer perched on a rock near the Bane. Only the gnawer looked like she had never been in battle, with her clean fur. She and the Bane were saying something about kings. The warrior interrupted with a stranger accent than Adrian had ever heard before. But then, he was an Overlander.

Now voices were rising. Adrian could hear the Bane from his spot on the plateau above her.

"You will not take over. I'm the king! I'm the king!" The Bane said like a child. Maybe his obsession with being king had to do with not having a tail.

"Of course you're the king. Who would follow a nothing like me?" The silver gnawer said uneasily. "He's lying!"

"I thought the Bane had more of a mind," Darius breathed. "There is something wrong with him. Or his friend."

Adrian had paused for a moment to reply, but she couldn't. Because in that moment, the Bane leaped for the silver gnawer and tore her head from her body with his fangs. He threw it to Ares's feet with a brutal, lethal look on his face, but began to moan like pup after a moment of confusion.

"Where's Twirltongue?"

"Adrian…" Darius whispered. She knew what he meant. He, too, didn't like what they were up against.

"Stay," She replied. The Bane wasn't attacking. So they wouldn't help unless it was absolutely necessary. They were only young fliers; they couldn't do anything to interrupt this set-up without a _very_ good reason.

"You killed her!" The Bane shouted. "Just like you killed my mother!"

He charged.

Adrian sat, dumbfounded. The beastly Bane lumbered forward, lunging toward Ares whenever he could. But the warrior had a plan, and so he and Ares retaliated, flying towards the Bane's face. Sword met claw, or one of them got a jab at each other. Adrian sucked in a breath as Ares's wing was hit, and then his ear. The Bane was more beat up, but acted as if he had no wounds at all; his balance seemed to be his only weakness. So Ares orbited the Bane with a speed almost impossible to reach. Adrian felt like cheering for Ares's tactic.

"Hang on!" A deep voice called; Ares must be warning the warrior. They were under the Bane's foreleg, when the warrior pierced it. The Bane cried out in pain.

"Get out! Get out, Ares!" The warrior yelled, and Adrian jumped up from behind the boulder.

The Bane was faster than any of them. He caught Ares's wing and yanked him closer. Right as the warrior thrust his sword into the heart of the monster, the Bane bit into a tore out Ares's entire neck.

Adrian couldn't even scream.

**I called Part One "Losing" for a reason.**

**Please review!**


	8. iw the BloodDrinker Rears its Head

**Oh, jeez, four reviews, I love you guys so much! This story will be updated with thanks to coyearth, Darkrider013, Isaac, and Sorry-NotValid!**

**This is short, but rather vital. It's not all angst, I don't think. ****Apologies about the title. And if you bother to review, will you answer me a question: is the last sentence a good addition?**

**Chapter Eight: In Which the Blood-Drinker Rears its Head**

"No, no…Ares…" Adrian whispered.

Everything was dying. Slowly, slowly dying. The Bane had fallen, and Ares had fallen with him. Not even Ares, the strongest flier, could live without his throat. Not even the warrior, whom Ares had saved and battled with despite the reputation it earned him, was going to live. The warrior was dying. And so was Adrian.

Ares didn't know she was dying. Not even her scream, pitched so high that only a flier could hear, had alerted Ares to the fact that his daughter was there. Aurora had said he would help her. Aurora had said he would understand, because he was different too. And Aurora, oh Aurora…where was she? Aurora had said that she and Ares would make Adrian's life better when they found each other. Aurora had said they would all have light.

No, there would be no light. Ares was dead.

"_**Haunted by the nameless dead.**_"

The prophecy. The Prophecy of Trap said this about her. And here was Ares, lying on the floor in a puddle of blood. Dead before she could really know him. And she could not forget him, either.

The warrior was shivering, huddled under Ares's wing. He was dying, his human blood mixing with Ares's. Adrian had never much liked humans. Luxa had cast her into the jungle, where she was almost killed by twisters. And Thagor had been carrying a human-made dagger, most likely for her death. No, Adrian did not like humans. Ares had died because the Bane and the warrior were fighting. It was justice that the warrior died, too.

Adrian folded her wings tightly around her, until they swallowed her whole. How was she to be without her parents? They were supposed to teach her, and talk to her, and warm her at night. They were supposed to help her be someone that Luxa would not be afraid of, or that Tangent could trust. She had spent her life imagining Ares and Aurora. Even the gnawers and the nibblers and the fliers did not give her such a good feeling as her parents did.

Adrian's quiet tears were now turning into gasping sobs that shook her body. This wasn't like laughing at all. It was harder for her to breathe, and her body began to spasm horribly because of it. All she could think of was Ares and Aurora and being without them, forever. Her eyes were sore from losing so much of their substance through crying. So many memories and stories haunted her that she didn't see Darius until he spoke.

"Adrian…look up."

Adrian curled tighter into her ball. Nothing good was out there. And soon, she would cry so much that half her body would melt into tears, and she didn't want to stop it from happening.

But she saw it anyways, because it was hard to ignore a glowing blue light.

"Think, Zap, what we could get if we returned the Overlander to Regalia," A whiny voice said.

"I had that idea first," Another voice snapped. "And just for that, I get your cake."

"Who says they will give us cake? And besides, I am going to carry the boy, so I should get the majority!"

"Wait!" Someone interrupted. Darius must have approached them. Adrian was still crying, but staring into space now. She couldn't think anymore. It brought so much pain. She had even turned her back to the plateau so she couldn't see Ares's carcass. But he was still there, and his face was burned into her memory.

"My friend and I…we are lost," Darius said. "Could you shiners take us to someone who could help?"

"You are pretty far into this cave to be 'lost'," The shiner called Zap said. "What will we get for _your_ return?"

"Please, can you not help us? I do not think she can move."

"Oh!" The blue light shined brighter on Adrian's back. "Flier, I don't know what you are trying to do, but we will not take _that_ anywhere," The other voice said.

"Imagine, Photos, what the humans will do when we tell them we saved the warrior _and_ found the blood-drinker!" Zap said.

"Should we leave it to die, or will the humans have need of it?" Photos asked.

"I don't think the humans need something so…weak. And sniveling. We should leave it to die, save everyone the trouble."

"What…what are you talking about? What did you call her?" Darius asked.

"Flier, just look at the golden stripe on her back! She is the blood-drinker of the Prophecy of Trap. Watch." Some liquid sprayed Adrian on her back and face. Suddenly, her hunger took over her numbed mind. She licked the blood on her snout, and before she knew it, she was trying to lick her back for more of the sweet liquid that let her live. She caught Darius's eye and lay down again, crying more.

"See?" Photos said with a grunt as he lifted the warrior away from Ares. Adrian's ears pricked when she heard a thump in the warrior's chest. He couldn't be…alive?

"He won't let go of the flier," Zap said. "Here, let me break off his talon-"

"NO!" Adrian shrieked and rocketed up to the plateau to tackle Zap. But it was too late, she had cracked Ares's claw from his body with one rough jab. "How could you??" Adrian cried and beat at Zap's ugly, glowing insect body with her wings. But Zap had wings too, and so she fluttered out from underneath Adrian's body, and she, Photos, and the warrior rocketed out of the cavern.

"Adrian..." Darius said. He sounded hollow, and stared at her with emotions she never wanted to see him with.

Adrian fell against her father's awkwardly bent wing, sobbing. The warrior lived; it wasn't fair! He started this entire battle, and yet he survived while his own bond, her own father, died! Ares had given them both light. And the warrior had failed to repay him by saving him from the Bane.

And Adrian had failed Ares. She had failed to find him and save him in time.

Why did the warrior- who had killed the Bane's own mother- deserve to live? Humans had never done a bit of good in her life. They started the war. They put her and Darius in danger. They couldn't even protect their strongest flier. The warrior should have died, to compensate for everything.

Adrian was hungry. And Darius knew what she was hungry for. So she leaned closer to the ground and began to lap up the integrated blood of Ares, the Bane, and the warrior. Immediately she felt a surge- the rush of energy she got when she fed. Ares and Aurora were going to teach her not to drink blood. But they were gone, and like Tangent had said, why would she deny her true nature?

She had stories of her parents. That was all she would have.

"They are here!"

The noise echoed through the cave. Adrian could make out a flier with wobbling wings careening straight for the plateau. Two gnawers followed underneath it. Adrian was still crying slightly, her eyes still raw, but she could breathe. She was still upset, still not ready to do anything but mourn. But though she cried, her mind was clear.

The flier, Hestia, landed, and the two gnawers jumped onto the plateau. One swept Adrian into a hug. "Where have you been?" Silversnap choked. "If it weren't for your scent-"

"You, boy, have some explaining to do," Locklunge growled towards Darius. Hestia frowned and wrapped her wings around her son.

"Hestia, I am so sorry," Darius said, ignoring Locklunge. Adrian hadn't realized how unstable he was until he was trembling against Hestia. "Adrian wanted to go to Regalia to find her parents, so we came here and found her father, but he was killed." He gestured to Ares. "Some shiners would have helped us, but they called Adrian a blood-drinker and…" His voice cracked. Hestia held him tighter.

"Is this true, Adrian?" Hestia said, looking at Adrian with the same shock, confusion, and disappointment as Darius had.. "Are you…?"

"It doesn't matter," Locklunge said. "What matters is, Darius broke his vow and stole Adrian without-"

"Wait. It was my idea," Adrian gasped and seperated herself from Silversnap's embrace. This wasn't right, the blame or the war or any of it. She had to do something, and she could think of only one thing to do. For those she loved. For her parents. "And yes." She stood up. Tears streamed down her face, but she kept her head held high. "I am Adrian the blood-drinker. My mother is missing. My father…is dead. And no matter what, I will not rest until they are avenged and everything is set right."

Locklunge smiled.

**END OF PART ONE**

**Please review!**


	9. iw the Trap is Set

**Okay, to be honest, I'm in a really bad mood today. Thanks to coyearth, Darkrider013, Unsigned. For Now., and LadyCorkboard (welcome back), I will be updating, but I didn't edit this as thoroughly as I would if I was in a good mood.**

**This two years later, if you don't catch that. The prophecy comes into play now (_finally_).**

**PART TWO: LEARNING**

**Chapter Nine: in Which the Trap is Set**

"Are you ready?"

Adrian nodded.

"You know the plan? And the signal?"

"Yes."

"Then stay here. I'll hint when I'm about to give the signal. Can you and the boy keep quiet?"

"I am not 'the boy'," Darius protested from a few feet away. He was still trying to get a better view of Regalia from where they stood on the highest point of the palace. Adrian was trying to focus on Locklunge's words, but kept sneaking glances at the festive people entering the palace below them.

Locklunge glared. "I'll call you a boy when I want to." He turned to Adrian. "Listen hard. If you have to gag him, do so."

"We will be fine," Adrian said.

"Remember, all you have to do is look menacing. It'll only be a few minutes before we set up the trap," Locklunge said.

"I know," Adrian said. "Do you not want to go to the party? You said you wanted to meet the leader of the gnawers." Really, she wanted him to leave so she could stare at Regalia in peace. Locklunge would want her concentrated on nothing but the mission, but that was a hard feat for one who had never seen so many buildings, humans, or fliers since…since the battle.

"Remember your oath. You want to take this step," Locklunge said, and turned to slide down the smoothed stone dome of a roof so he could meet the stairs that would take him to the queen's fourteenth birthday party just beneath their feet.

Adrian and Darius were at the edge of a giant hole in the roof of the Regalian palace. Darius had said the hole was made on purpose, so that fliers could go in and out with ease; most parties were held here, if many fliers were to be present.

Two years after the battle, Adrian still relied on Darius for most of her information on the world outside the jungle. They were almost adolescents, and had such little freedom that it would have been easier to clip their wings. Hestia had made her wound worse by finding Darius at the battle, and insisted that he be with her as often as possible to monitor her healing; it was a poor excuse for Hestia to keep her son where she could see him. Locklunge and Silversnap (after learning about Adrian's past and her parents) banned Adrian from travelling anywhere without a gnawer or Hestia. Not that she knew where to go.

In better news, Darius and Hestia were still with Adrian. Hestia had had a hunch about Adrian's diet and knew the stripe on her back held some significance, but told Adrian that "a flier should always have someone of its own kind with it". At least she cared. Darius didn't explain why he had stayed with Adrian, but once joked that as long as neither of them ate at the same time, all would be well with him. Adrian was secretly glad of their company, their knowledge, and their understanding, though she didn't often show it. Besides, she didn't think they could really leave; Locklunge gave them food and protection almost like a bribe, and according to Darius, they didn't have much to go home to.

She was also pretty sure Darius and Hestia were worried about her. After the battle in which she watched her father die, Adrian was a changed flier; she spoke little, often brooded, and had difficulty in showing her emotions. And she still stuck by her promise to make things right, which Hestia and Darius weren't too happy about. Locklunge, however, was thrilled. He had arranged for Adrian to study her prophecy, to learn how to fly and fight and- most importantly- to hunt. He began to make plans that would help Adrian fulfill the Prophecy of Trap, and when he and the other gnawers agreed on one, he began to teach Adrian about tactics and convinced her to follow the plan. Their goal: to put a stranglehold on the humans that Adrian so passionately loathed.

Darius and Hestia tried to speak with Adrian, to tell her about good humans and the bonds that fliers shared with them. But Adrian could imagine no such person (let alone people), so their efforts were futile. Under Locklunge's orders, Darius taught her more flight techniques until she could glide in her sleep. (Darius said he would have taught her, Locklunge's orders or not.) Hestia shared some of the fliers' attack techniques. With their lectures about good humans and then their teaching her to fight against humans, Adrian didn't know what side that made them on.

So here they were, about to execute phase one of Locklunge's plan: Adrian was to make herself known. She peered over the edge of the stone opening to the humans mingling below in colorful costumes. This species could not be so forgiving of a flier that drank blood. But she didn't need their friendship; she needed her revenge.

"Big crowd." Darius fluttered next to her. He had only been allowed to come to the party- and only to wait in the shadows- because Adrian needed help navigating to Regalia, and Locklunge needed to know "the boy" wouldn't escape the jungle while they were away.

"Right," Adrian said and shivered. She had not left the jungle for two years, and though her fur wasn't sticky with sweat, the drafts and cold surfaces had her shuddering.

"Adrian," Darius sighed, "Hestia, she wanted me to ask you…are you sure about this?" He gestured to the party. "Those humans would adopt you as their ally, even if your diet is strange. You have every chance to be like a Regalian flier. You have only to stop listening to Locklunge."

Adrian looked at Darius. He had grown in the last two years (he was almost larger than her), but his face had never lost that trusting quality.

"This will not find Aurora," He said gently. "This will not bring Ares back."

"Darius, I have a prophecy. I want to get it over with, to say that yes, I am a blood-drinker. And when I do, they will judge me for it." Adrian returned her gaze to the crowd below her. A flash of gold caught her eye, but it was gone as soon as it came.

"What would she say?" Darius said. "Aurora would not want this, would she?"

Adrian was hurt. It was hard of Darius to immediately bring up her one possibly-living parent. "Aurora loved Ares too. She would want justice."

"She would want harm on the gnawers who killed him, not the humans who succeeded him," Darius snapped. "This makes no sense, to fight with the gnawers that your father battled. I do not care if they followed the Bane or not, Locklunge is going to do harm to the humans, and your heritage should be the one thing that tells you it is wrong!"

Adrian said nothing. She only trembled and thought of his words.

Darius's face fell. "Adrian, I did not mean to-"

"No." Adrian shook her head. "It is just that…I need to know that I am doing something. For Ares, or for Aurora, or for the hardships I have faced. I cannot trust the humans who have done me such harm, and I cannot attack the gnawers who gave me light ever since I met them. If I am a tool of the prophecy, let me be. I just need to decide the outcome of this war, and then I will be done. No one could fear me after my prophecy is done and I have gone away.

"And besides," she shrugged, "perhaps we may not even kill off the humans. But with their numbers, there could be no more war. No more to die for causes like ours. We would prosper after that. All I must do to do that is fulfill Locklunge's plan, and therefore the prophecy."

Darius ruffled his wings. Adrian could see he had not been ready for this answer. He only saw in this the fliers that could be affected when the humans were threatened. But Adrian had no desire to harm her own kind and would try to protect them from the gnawer troops. She'd ask Darius to help here; fliers trusted him.

"I hope you are right," He said. "I want you to be right, though I do not want the humans to be part of this experiment. Just…try to keep an open mind through the entire plan. You never know, you could see something that could change your mind."

Adrian wondered what she'd have to see in order to be changed. If she had to watch anything but humans die, she'd rather stay the same.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Locklunge called to the crowd beneath the ceiling. "In honor of Queen Luxa and her fourteenth birthday, my clan of gnawers presents a treat."

Adrian's wings tightened. This was the hint. This was it.

"This is something that many couldn't see coming. But we have watched it in the jungle for years now."

Adrian positioned herself at the edge of the stone ceiling, just out of reach. Darius backed away as she unfolded her wings to descend.

"But don't worry; we have complete confidence in Queen Luxa. She had handled this before," Locklunge chortled. "Presenting the blood-drinker, of the Prophecy of Trap!"

Adrian leaped from the roof, pausing for a moment to let the crowd feel her shadow, and then she coasted down next to Locklunge. She could feel eyes on her, more eyes than she thought, but she couldn't show it if she was scared. Besides, the smell of humans- like a mix of sweat and rotting fruit- was enough to keep her as far away from them as possible. She kept her eyes ahead, staring where Locklunge looked until she found the face. Queen Luxa.

She still had the gold band wrapped around her head, and a few more scars and wrinkles were visible on her white face, but she hadn't changed much in more than two years. The one novelty was that this was the first time that she didn't look like a powerful queen, even though she was dressed in silk and surrounded by allies. She looked…afraid.

But that didn't last long.

"I am surprised you could keep her hidden this long, Locklunge. Cevian and I considered her as good as dead in your claws," Luxa said. Her voice was strong, but her eyes followed Adrian warily. Adrian knew she could still hear Aurora's screams of pain.

"But we're being nice to the gnawers, _aren't_ we, Luxa?" A large, ruddy-red gnawer said, as if speaking to a child. He did look much more experienced than anyone here, with his bald patches and mangy, torn fur, and the two scars that criss-crossed over his eye. "Or does our bond mean nothing to you?"

"My clan does not side with you, Ripred," Locklunge said. "And there are several clans- more than three fourths of the gnawer population- who would agree with me. We have not received compensation from the humans in all this time. We still struggle to survive, with lack of food and new diseases rampant. I'm beginning to wonder how much the humans really care for us. Did you not want to make some sort of peaceful gesture towards the dangerous new allies?"

"The war harmed humans, too," Ripred said. "Armies destroyed the crops, and we're having enough trouble growing food without your sick invading the fields and turning them into medical camps."

"You speak like a human," Locklunge said. "It was agreed that the gnawers were to have one barrel-full of wheat per person, ten cattle per clan, and newly-opened fishing rivers for all of us by the last harvest. And what did we get last harvest? Too little! Only every other clan we know of received such rations, and we suspect that the food delivered to us is what gave us our newer diseases. What's worse, human soldiers withheld the fishing rivers because they had not gotten orders to." A few gnawers in the corner began to nod. Every other species present looked uneasy.

"Weren't you in the jungle then? Watching the blood-drinker?" A small human boy with skin darker than the Underland humans said. "If we cannot find you, how can we give you food?"

"Hazard is right," Luxa said. "Your clan has not been seen until recently. Who are you to complain when you are far from human aid?"

"My clan migrated to the jungle to avoid the attacking humans, and our scouts received nothing when we sent them out for supplies. Many clans cannot afford the trouble of even sending a scout to get food from you humans," Locklunge snarled. "But that will change, because _we_ will be in charge of the goods. And the blood-drinker is ready to help our cause." He grinned to Adrian.

"What?" Luxa stood up, only to be forced down by the shoulder by Ripred. "Why do you do this?" She glared to Adrian with eyes like steel.

"You took me from my mother," Adrian muttered, sounding as fierce as she could so Locklunge would be proud. Luxa's eyebrows shot up as Adrian spoke her first words to her.

"She is fine," Luxa blurted. "She lives, blood-drinker."

"I do not see why I should take your word for this," Adrian said and looked away. "You do not trust me, and I do not trust you."

"Well, your highness, it seems like you and the blood-drinker already have quite a history," Ripred said wryly. "But the matter remains that she's got a grudge on you, and may take it out on the kingdom if we don't try to-"

"I know," Luxa interrupted. She stared at Adrian with a calculating look in her eyes. "What if you could see your mother again? Or does this have to do with something else?"

"My father died in the war you began," Adrian said in a low voice, and now dared to make eye contact with Luxa. "And you keep my mother from me, even as we speak."

"No," Luxa shook her head. "She is away from the festivities, and not because of you. Though I am rather glad she is away, seeing as she still remembers how you dislocated her wing-"

"That is enough."

"-And if she were to be here, I fear you may do the same-"

"No!"

"-do you remember that? All the pain Aurora went through because you were hungry-"

"_Enough!_" Adrian shrieked. Her eyes flashed red, and she charged towards Luxa on her throne. A few human women shrieked.

But there were three voices that yelled out the same word: "no!" Adrian ran into one of the yellers, Ripred, as he dove in front of Luxa to deflect the flier's leap. Luxa, the second to yell "no!", was on her feet with a small silver dagger in her hand. Its harsh glint reminded Adrian of the similar human-made dagger that the nibblers had been given to take her life with. She tried to dodge around Ripred, but the third person to yell "no!" held her back by her wings.

"Not yet," Locklunge grunted in her ear. He pressed on her wings.

"It is the dagger!" Adrian hissed. But she lowered her wings (if she didn't relax them), and when Locklunge let go, she didn't charge. She and Luxa glared at each other.

"You should not take their side, blood-drinker," Luxa warned, cutting into the silence that had devoured the festivities. "You will get nothing from them."

"It is more than I got from you," Adrian growled back. The screams of those human women still echoed in her ears. Locklunge was right: they did fear her. Good.

"So, Locklunge," Ripred stepped forward, almost like he was testing Adrian's restraint. Maybe he was just taking control as the leader of the gnawers. "What do you plan to do with the flier, now that we know she exists?"

"Glad you asked." Locklunge grinned and tapped his tooth. "I have gathered an army that surrounds the city as we speak. They flank all exists, and have gone so far as to employ spinners to make a net around the walls of Regalia. You'll all stay here, I think, until I feel we've won your unconditional surrender."

"What of our crops?" Luxa asked.

"Our feast, now. We'll still let you grow them, of course, but we'll control the portions now."

"The fliers cannot handle a net," Luxa said, her face contorting into an upset expression.

"Oh, that reminds me. All fliers in the air will be turned over to the spinners, the gnawers, or the blood-drinker."

"You cannot do this!" Luxa sat up indignantly.

Locklunge cackled. "Welcome to the Prophecy of Trap!"

The entire hall awoke from its stupor. All but the guards were backing away from Adrian. People grabbed their children close to their breasts. Nibblers turned over tables, trying to find some way to keep themselves from the gnawers that were looking at each other with growing smiles. Some fliers were already collecting humans, ready to fly off with them. Locklunge had friends at this party, however, and so most of the gnawers present were blocking the exits. Most.

"Really?" Ripred said with a smirk among the crowd of worried faces. He turned to Luxa. "Didn't I tell you? Didn't I tell you the rats were unhappy? Because our scouts knew." His voice rose. "And it just so happens that I sent a few of our best soldiers out of the city tonight. And what do you know, we actually need them. Don't you wish you gave them more supplies?" He still focused on Luxa, though Adrian knew he liked the surprise in Locklunge's eyes. "And maybe you shouldn't have let your bond go with them."

"Aurora will return," Luxa muttered. Adrian tried to hide the impact the blow had on her. Aurora. Outside Regalia. With gnawer armies ready to pounce on anything that so much as thought about a human.

"We have our troops positioned to take out any trespassers upon sight," Locklunge said smugly, then turned to Adrian. "But to make this occasion complete, why not invite our friends from the Overland?"

"Gregor," Luxa breathed in such a light voice that Adrian almost didn't catch it. She spoke, louder. "They will never come to harm humans. You know that!"

"Oh, the rager will trust the daughter of Ares," Locklunge laughed. He signaled for Adrian to depart. "Gnawers, I need your aid in escorting our company to the fields. It's time we had a party of our own. Take Queen Luxa and her family captive. And for Sandwich's sake, make sure no one escapes!" Gnawers began to turn tables over and block the entrances, spilling food everywhere. Humans were shrieking, nibblers were squealing, fliers were fluttering out of reach of the gnawers that now turned on their former allies.

"Blood-drinker," Locklunge growled amidst all the movement and noise.

Adrian needed to watch Luxa, who was looking at her. While Ripred and the guards combatted the gnawers that now approached the queen, Luxa sat still and seemed to be silently pleading with Adrian. But for what, the young flier didn't know. Perhaps she was begging for the Overlander whose name she had uttered, and that he not be brought to the Underland. Perhaps she was begging for Aurora, still outside of Regalia and within gnawer reach. Luxa wanted Adrian to do something, but couldn't-

"GO!" Locklunge shouted and snapped his teeth at Adrian's tail. She burst into flight, along with several other fliers and Luxa (who sprung into battle once their eye contact broke). The gnawers sprung into action when Locklunge said "go", and leaped into the air to pluck every flier except Adrian from the air. As the full-out panic of the guests and the sounds of Locklunge's orders faded into the darkness, Adrian concentrated on the memory of Luxa's pleading face, and wondered what on earth she could mean by that.

**Next up, we get to Gregor. So please review, in order to get me in the mood to show you how he and Adrian meet. Sorry that sounds like a threat, but seriously, some sort of feedback is about all that can make my day now; even if you think it sucks, at least you're thinking of me enough to tell me. :P**


	10. iw Grace has No Choice

**Well, I was going to do some homework in prep for school, but I suppose I need a break, don't I. So, with fond regards to coyearth, Darkrider013, and Lady Corkboard for their encouragement, I will be updating. I hope Gregor and Adrian's meeting is up to your standards.**

**Chapter Ten: In Which Grace Has No Choice**

"_This is it,_" Gregor thought as he stared out of the window of the taxi.

He slouched deeper into the leather seat as he saw the museum that held the stone knight. The Cloisters. He had been like that knight, so much that his mom was beginning to tease him as a couch potato. She and Boots were the only ones who had shown any enthusiasm lately, but now his mom was simply trying not to cry while Boots sat on her lap and played with her black dress.

Gregor's grandma had died, after two years of slipping in and out of consciousness. The hospital had come to know Gregor as a regular, because he visited his grandma more than anyone else in the family. He tried desperately to lift his grandma's spirits, to magically heal her with stories about Boots and school and anything he could think of. One night he told her about the prophecies he'd been in- Grandma loved prophecies- but he only got halfway through the Prophecy of Gray before he began to stare into space, his hand clenched in the way that he used to hold Ares's talon.

Gregor's grandma was the only thing that kept his family in New York City. His mom had had enough of Boots' obsession with speaking with cockroaches, and Lizzie's nightmare of the rats that had attacked her, and Gregor's "moping" as she called it. The truth was that he just couldn't get interested in the Overland again. His mom could tell, and though she cried for Grandma now, he could tell she was happy that they could finally move to Virginia and heal.

"Gregor?" Boots slipped off of Mom's lap and got on Gregor's while the taxi turned a corner. "You miss her too?"

"Yeah," Gregor said, "I'll miss her a lot."

"Put her here," Boots instructed, holding her little hand to his chest. "Remember? Put her with Thalia."

"Shh," Mom said gently. Boots mimicked her. "So, in Grandma's will, she gave us enough money to get to Virginia," Mom told them, trying to sound cheery. Gregor zoned out, still slightly upset. Mom was trying to get Boots to forget Thalia. The Underland was a forbidden topic to her, but Gregor couldn't forget. Not here, not in Virginia, and not anywhere else. He may not be the warrior anymore, but part of him was still in Regalia, with Luxa and Ripred and Ares and Howard and Vikus…would Mom try to get him to forget them, too?

The taxi swerved to drive against Central Park. Gregor began to wish a horrible wish: he wanted to be in another prophecy. The Underland wasn't just going to go away, after all. And he didn't want to be one step further from it. He'd endure whatever Sandwich made up just to have an excuse to see his friends.

"You've gone insane," He told himself. "Maybe it's something to do with seeing your bond slaughtered by a rat you were supposed to fight to the death with." He couldn't help himself. Going to sleep involved preparing for a nightmare. Gym class was a stretch of his patience, as his rager senses kicked into nearly every game he played. His scars itched under his long clothes. And no girl he knew had Luxa's attitude, or her devotion, or her smile.

"Gregor, for goodness sake, have you been paying any attention?" Mom interrupted his thoughts. Gregor straightened.

"Sorry, Mom," He muttered. She had less patience nowadays, as she worked longer hours to support the entire family. Gregor's dad had tried to hold a job numerous times, but he had such little strength that it rarely lasted.

Mom sighed. "It'll be okay, Gregor." She tried to smile. "I'll miss her too. But we have to look ahead, to our lives in Virginia."

Gregor spaced her out again- this time not so unintentionally- and began to wonder if the Underland needed him at all. Maybe Sandwich had realized what the warrior thought of him and decided to kill him, and end the Underland's problems with it. Maybe he could revoke what he said about Sandwich's cruelty, so he could go under again.

"Gregor, could you go get Mrs. Cormaci?" Gregor's dad asked. Mrs. Cormaci was coming down to their apartment for lunch after Grandma's funeral, and the taxi had just pulled up to their building. Gregor nodded and left the cab without another word.

"Teenagers," He heard his mother say to herself. She thought this was a phase to do with being fourteen. He wished he could believe that.

Hands stuffed in his pockets, he climbed the stairs to Mrs. Cormaci's door, remembering all the times he had come down these steps with different treats for Ripred. Even the rat's crude manners and gruff, sarcastic voice would cheer him up. What would Ripred say now?

"_Why would you want to be in another prophecy, boy? You know they're no good. If you want to come down, don't wait for Sandwich to tell you too. You're the only one who can tell yourself what to do._"

Why did Ripred sound like a commercial for a gym?

Gregor shook his head and knocked on Mrs. Cormaci's door. She opened it, looking slightly fretful. Her apron was only half on, the worried wrinkles on her forehead were more distinguished, and she wrung her hands.

"Oh, good, it's you." She pulled him in quickly and closed the door. "Now I don't want you to be alarmed," she said as she bustled him through her hall, "but you need to see someone. She says it's pretty important."

She then showed him into the sitting room, where a small black bat was stooped against the wall in a dark corner, staring at him expectantly. Gregor froze, taking in the bat that was almost as tall as he was, and began to think that maybe Sandwich could be forgiven, just for the moment.

"You are Gregor the Overlander?" The bat said, not moving from her dark corner. Gregor suspected she either was uncomfortable in the apartment, or she was not eager to see him.

"Uh…yeah. That's me," He said.

"I am Adrian." She nodded. "I come because the Underland is in trouble."

"Again?" Gregor blurted, halfway between fear and glee.

Adrian looked at him strangely. "Again. The Prophecy of Trap calls for a rager and princesses, who we can only assume to be-"

"Me," He said. "And Boots and Lizzie."

This was surreal. Less than a minute ago, he had been praying to be called back to the Underland. But that had only been to see his friends, he now realized. This bat that he didn't know was summoning him to fight, to see those he loved trapped and endangered and killed unless he could save him. He'd always had to do it before, and it was all he could expect now.

Right?

"So, what are we supposed to do now? I mean, if we come down." Gregor eyed Mrs. Cormaci, who watched them in the doorway. He wished she would leave and go make food or something. The more she knew, the more she could tell to his parents, who would probably reject the idea of him returning to Regalia.

"Your parts in the prophecy are very vague," Adrian said, "but it seems to be that you'll help another person in the prophecy." She paused. "They call her the blood-drinker."

"The blood-drinker?" Gregor echoed. "Is she dangerous?"

"No one can be sure. She cannot hurt you, though, because she needs you to help her find the allies needed to end the war. The gnawers have imprisoned the fliers and the humans in Regalia, and each side needs the ally to exterminate the other."

"I thought Ripred was in charge of the gnawers," Gregor said, then caught himself adjusting to the Underland language so quickly. "I mean rats."

"Yes, but some of the…rats, as you call them, were not satisfied with his leadership. They were not getting the supplies they were promised, so they took over Regalia to steal what they needed."

"And they're going to let the humans die?"

"The fliers too." Adrian sounded offended.

"What's Luxa doing?" The words burst out of Gregor.

"If you mean the queen, I do not know. There had not been much time to take action. The trap was set less than twenty-four hours ago, and I have been here since then, waiting for you."

"Will Luxa help the blood-drinker too?" Maybe then he could see Luxa. His heart sputtered into life at the thought.

"Queen Luxa and the blood-drinker," Adrian glared, "have things to overcome first. This is part of the reason why the blood-drinker is on both sides of the war."

"What? Why?" Gregor said. Naïve as it sounded, he had trouble picturing why anyone wouldn't side with humans. But then he remembered their name amongst the other species: the killers.

"The blood-drinker is a flier, for one, and she feels loyalty to her own kind. However, she wants to repay the gnawers for saving her life and raising her, and neither she nor the gnawers like humans, so she is- for all practical reasons- on the gnawers' side," Adrian said.

"Why doesn't she like humans?"

"She has only met one, Queen Luxa, who tried to kill her."

"So?" Gregor burst. But he faltered; did Luxa consider that the blood-drinker could help her before she tried to kill her? "That was one human, and I bet Luxa would help the blood-drinker anyways."

"You sound as if you want the Queen to go in your place," Adrian retorted.

"No! Yes. I want to go!" Gregor shook his head. He could worry about sides later, but first he had to come down. "Look, could you tell the blood-drinker that it could be hard for me and my sisters to come down right now? No, wait, bring the blood-drinker here, 'cause it'll be hard to get my parents to let us go without someone to tell them how bad it is down there."

"I can tell them," Adrian said.

"Okay, fine. But I want to talk to the blood-drinker sometime."

"Why?"

"I need her to know that my family is only going to help the humans, no matter what the prophecy says."

"Well, I can tell you now that the blood-drinker will want some very good arguments to persuade her to help humans, because she may always leave you here and find the allies herself." Adrian's eyes narrowed.

"I'll bet the prophecy can't be fulfilled without us." Gregor folded his arms.

"She could take you down, get the information, and eat you."

"I could fight her."

"Do not play games. Her strength is legendary."

They spent a moment glowering at each other, until Adrian leaned closer to the corner and sighed. "She needs you. She does not need her side chosen by a _human_, but she needs you."

"I think it's mutual," Gregor admitted. He wanted to help his friends, even if it meant leaving his parents and squabbling with a blood-drinker about who to save. It struck him just how strange it could be to save people with something that drank blood. Maybe it was just a name.

"Gregor!" A high-pitched voice cried from down the hall. The door opened almost instantly- Mrs. Cormaci had left during the argument- and hard little shoes pattered down the hall. Boots' curly head popped into the doorway of the sitting room.

She gasped, loud and excited, and zoomed around the furniture and Gregor to wrap her arms around the bat in the dark corner. "Ares!"

Adrian's mouth floundered as she struggled for words. She looked down to Boots, revealing a golden line between her ears that Gregor hadn't quite noticed. "I am not Ares," She told Boots. "Who are you?"

"Oops," Boots said, unabashed, and did not let go, but looked up at Adrian and grinned. "I'm Boots! And that's Gregor and Lizzie." She pointed to Gregor, and then to Lizzie, who had silently followed Boots to the doorway. She looked between Adrian and Gregor in disbelief, and Gregor gave her a sympathetic look. The only thing Lizzie would really want to see from the Underland was Ripred; everything else scared her to some degree.

"You look like Ares. Except for your yellow stripe," Boots said, still talking to Adrian and playing with her fur. "Ares is a great big black bat who Gregor-"

"I know who Ares is." Adrian shifted uncomfortably. She wouldn't meet Gregor's eyes anymore, though his gaze must be burning into her.

Boots grinned. "Me too!"

"Yes. Ares is my father."

"…Wait, what?" Gregor asked. His mind was racing, but his expression didn't change. It was too hard to understand. Ares was not accepted by most bats, but Adrian looked pretty young so…was she born while Ares was still an outcast? And why didn't he tell Gregor he had a daughter? If he had one at all. Adrian's gold stripe couldn't have come from his bond.

"Please do not make me say it again," Adrian said, meeting Gregor's eye shyly. "I know he was your bond, and I know what happened because of it."

Gregor frowned. She sounded like she was blaming him. But he'd tried to help Ares avoid the Bane, even if it was Gregor's fault that Ares had to face the Bane in the first place. He tried not to think about it- he saw the incident enough in his dreams- but now Adrian had sent the painful memory to the front of his mind. He could almost see Ares's face in Adrian, so fresh in his memory that he could feel his own scars writhing like they were new.

Ignoring it. "So…this is why they send you here? Instead of the…uh…the person who needs us?" Gregor said, hoping to protect Lizzie from the thought of a blood-drinker.

"I suppose so. But I am small and can actually fit through the vent, and I have the strength of a full-grown flier so I can carry you and your sisters. However, I must know if you can come." Adrian looked down to Boots.

"Come where?" Lizzie piped up. "Is Gregor in another prophecy?" She wrung her hands together, and her breathing began to speed up. "Mom won't like this, Gregor, we're supposed to be leaving!"

"It's okay, Lizzie." Gregor walked closer to the door and put his arms around her. "Mrs. Cormaci?" He called. "Can we have a paper bag?"

"Here." She was there in a few seconds, shoving a paper bag into Lizzie's hands. "Easy, Liz. Nothing's going to hurt you."

"But- it- wants- Gregor!" Lizzie gasped.

"It's okay," Boots said and let go of Adrian to pat Lizzie. "It's okay, Lizzie." Just like Mom always told her. It seemed to work best, if it was said enough.

"Liz-zee?" Adrian stepped from her corner, and Gregor could see that the gold stripe stretched vertically, all the way down her back. "You are the code-breaker, are you not?"

Lizzie paused and then nodded, still breathing into her paper bag.

"Oh, I have heard much about you when I was being taught about the last war. Without you, the Bane would most likely have won. The fight that your brother and my father fought would have been for nothing," Adrian sighed. Lizzie was hyperventilating less by now.

"I'm sorry about what happened to Ares," She said. "I liked him." She breathed faster. "He died because I couldn't crack the code soon enough."

"_Well, that's a new one,_" Gregor thought. If anyone couldn't be blamed for Ares's death, it had to be Lizzie, but she seemed determined to find something to be upset about.

"No, I am more to blame," Adrian said solemnly. "So much that I am not enough to help the blood-…the flier in the Prophecy of Trap." She avoided the name "blood-drinker" when she saw Gregor shake his head. "Lizzie, the flier needs you especially, to help her find an ally that could save the Underland."

"Me?" Lizzie put down the bag.

"You," Adrian nodded. "You are the code-breaker, and you can help us decide which creature we ask help from. There is a sort of puzzle that will help you."

"And me?" Boots said. "What do I do?"

"Once Lizzie has told us where to go, you will help us get there." Gregor had the feeling that Adrian was just making things up now, but his sisters looked better, so he appreciated the efforts. "If you remember the crawler tongue, you can help us pass safely by speaking to any creatures who understand you."

"I know crawler tongue!" Boots said. And then she burst out into a series of variously-pitched clicks that everyone else seemed baffled by. After a minute, she stopped and smiled and played with the sleeve of her black dress.

"I…am impressed, princess," Adrian said. She sounded a little unsure, but also a little awed. Gregor had to hide his grin; Boots was a natural.

"What's going on?" A voice called from the front door. Gregor jumped. The door must still be open, and someone heard Boots. "Your dad is waiting for lunch!"

"Mom," Gregor breathed. She wouldn't like this at all.

"Mama, big bat came!" Boots peeked her head out of the doorway and waved. Mom was there in a flash, staring openly at Adrian with eyes like dinner plates and lips held so tight that she looked like she was puckering.

Adrian was at a loss for words, but recovered and bowed her head awkwardly. "You must be Grace, the Mother of Our Light. I am Adrian, and I-"

"No."

"Mom, listen to her," Gregor pleaded.

"Gregor, no!" Mom swiveled to face him. "You know why we can't go back there as well as I do. It's _dangerous_ down there! You almost got killed last time, and my girls were caught in the middle of a war!" She grabbed her daughters' wrists, and heard the crinkle of a paper bag in Lizzie's fist.

"And you see this?" Mom cried, holding up the bag. "Lizzie was scared out of her wits just at the thought of the Underland, which, I may add, Boots won't stop talking about. I'm lucky if I hear it in English instead of a whole bunch of clicks! And don't tell me there's nothing wrong with you, Gregor, because there is."

"Mom, I-"

"No, you have! You keep tracing over your scars and staring off into space, and you sulk around when you're not drawing bats or rats or helping Mrs. Cormaci. Your English teacher wants to talk to me about your poems that sound like prophecies of _doom!_ She thinks there's a problem, and I think so too. No, Gregor, we're done with the Underland. I'm sorry, Miss Bat, but none of my children are going with you." She turned from Adrian, pointed Gregor to the door, and started yanking the girls away.

"Bye, bat." Boots waved to Adrian.

Gregor stuffed his hands in his pockets. This was the first time his mom had ever really blown up about the Underland. He knew she was upset about it, but she normally talked about Virginia as a way to repress her feelings. He knew she was just trying to protect them, but did they really need so much protection?

"If they cannot come with me," Adrian said, just loudly enough to get everyone to stop, "we have other ways."

"What other ways?" Mom stopped and spoke in a steely voice. Her eyes were still aimed at the door.

"The gnawers are close allies of ours, and have their own need of your family." Gregor could swear Adrian was suppressing a smile. "They only send me as a friendly warning, and if that is not heeded, they emerge."

"Rats," Gregor said. "The big Underland kind coming up here."

"Rats bad," Boots said, tugging on Mom's hand.

"I know," Mom said and squeezed her hand. She turned to Adrian. "We're moving. Very far away, where you can't hurt us."

"Really?" Adrian said nonchalantly. She smiled, showing a row of gleaming teeth. "You must know then, Grace, that there is a flier who allies with the gnawers. She is meant to lead an army with your son, the rager." She nodded to Gregor. "And she is known as the blood-drinker."

Mom turned pale. "So…she-"

"Oh, yes, she certainly drinks blood," Adrian said. So it wasn't a name after all, Gregor realized. And he was going to work with her? Adrian continued. "Of course, she would not drink from your children, who she needs to fulfill her quest. But she has less restraint towards those who make things difficult for her."

Mom was almost white. "She'll never find us. They can hurt big bats, the police can. She wouldn't be able to follow us." It was almost like she was trying to convince herself, more than prove the bat wrong.

Adrian shook her head pityingly, with an "I-know-something-you-don't-know" look. "Suit yourself."

"Mom?"

Mom jumped like she'd been zapped. "Uh…yes Lizzie?"

"I want to go down there." Lizzie stared at the floor as she spoke. "The Underland needs all of us, and- and it's better than trying to move away and desert them, and…I can't do that."

Gregor could have kissed her.

"Grandma said to me one time that the prophecy would find me if I tried to run away from it," He added. "And this time it's all three of us they need. We can't escape it, Mom."

"Big bugs, Mama!" Boots tugged her hand. "Big bugs an' bats an' Dulcie an' Hazard an' froggies-"

"Shh, Boots." Gregor hushed her. Mom would freak if she thought Boots was going to run into one of those poison frogs again.

"Yeah, and shh! Fo-fo!" Boots nodded.

"They will be well protected," Adrian said. "With the role they play in the prophecy, they are in everyone's highest regards. No one wishes them harm." To Gregor, this sounded like a lie. But it was working.

Mom had her lips pursed, looking to each of her children's hopeful faces. The truth of what they'd been through and what they wanted to go through again registered in her eyes. She took a shuddering breath, looked Adrian from head to talon, and asked:

"Are you sure there isn't another way?"

"I would not be here if there was," Adrian said.

Mom took another breath, and looked Gregor in the eye. "Then I guess I have no choice."

Gregor blinked as the words registered in his mind. The Underland would send anything to get them down there. They had no choice but to go. Mom had no choice. He was free!

He thrust his arms around his mom, as did his sisters. A drop of water fell on Gregor's head. Mom was crying.

"You needed to go," Mom whispered as she wrapped her arms around her children as best she could. "I just can't watch you leave again."

"I have to, Mom." Gregor's voice cracked.

Someone sniffed and clapped Mom on the back. "Go with them, Grace," Mrs. Cormaci said. "It's clear they won't want to come up here again, and they were never going to handle the farm anyways."

"It'd be best," Mom said in a choked voice. She pulled away, stroked Lizzie's hair, squeezed Boots' hand, and looked Gregor in the eye; she was trying to hold onto her children as long as she could. She always had been holding on.

"I want you," she said quietly, "to go down there and do whatever you have to do. And you need to watch over each other and not get hurt, until your father and I can settle things here and come join you. Miss Bat, you can have someone come here and take us down, can't you?" She turned to Adrian, whose head was bowed.

"I will use whatever influence I have to see you safe," She mumbled. Gregor smiled half-heartedly. She sounded sort of like Ares.

"Go down and tell your husband," Mrs. Cormaci said to Mom, who nodded, wiped her eyes, and left with a lingering look. "Now, Miss Bat, what do you suggest the kids take for this trip?"

"Light," Gregor and Adrian said at the same time.

"Oh, I've got plenty of that," Mrs. Cormaci scoffed. "Lizzie, come help me pack up the batteries." They left. Boots tugged at Gregor's hand.

"Mama was sad," She said.

"Yeah, Mom was sad." Gregor picked her up. "But you know what'll make her happy?"

"What?"

"Going back down to the Underland. Do you want to go down again, Boots? Want to go back and be the princess?"

"Ye-es!" She beamed. "And I see Temp! Mama see Temp!"

"Who is Temp?" Adrian asked. Gregor paused, feeling sheepish. She had been standing there awkwardly in the corner, tracking the movements and conversation, watching his family trickle in and out. He'd talked to them more than he'd talked to her, the daughter of his own bond. He was still confused about how that daughter thing could have happened without his knowledge.

"Temp's this cockroach that Boots is friends with. He watches over her and stuff," Gregor said.

"Cock…roach?"

"Crawler," He explained.

"I am sorry," Adrian said. "I have little experience with the language of the Overland.

"Well, the humans use words like 'rat' and 'cockroach' sometimes…" Then Gregor remembered her sole experience with a human. Great. Now he felt stupid.

Adrian's eyes narrowed, and she looked away. "Then I have something new to learn," She said simply and left it at that, because then Lizzie and Mrs. Cormaci came in with a hiking backpack and a tub full of batteries that Mrs. Cormaci used to say she kept "in case this blasted apartment loses power on me again."

Their meal forgotten, Mom and Dad both came upstairs with spare clothes, and all six of the humans began a rush of packing two backpacks for Gregor and Adrian to tote. Any possible supplies, mainly food, were sent into the sitting room so Adrian (the only one who knew where they were going) could say it was necessary or unnecessary. If it passed, it got crammed into one of two backpacks, but Adrian didn't approve of a lot of foods. She called them "perishable" or "too extravagant", but Gregor could have sworn she actually didn't think they were too appetizing. The other supplies interested her, though; she gawked for a full minute as Mrs. Cormaci showed her how a gas lantern worked.

Gregor's dad, who was pretty winded after so many trips to the kitchen, mainly sat next to Adrian and stuffed backpacks. Once he caught a glimpse of her teeth and cried out when he saw how pointed they were.

"Oh!" He stopped packing, staring at Adrian. "Your…your teeth!"

"What of them?" Adrian ruffled her wings and ducked her head- Gregor suspected- to hide her face.

"I've never seen them so sharp, not even on Underland bats. What do you eat?"

Gregor tried to catch her eye so he could sympathize. Dad sometimes let his scientific mind get ahead of his common sense. And the result could range from awkward to deadly when it had to do with the Underland.

This time, it seemed more awkward. "Ah…meat," Adrian mumbled.

"Fantastic! With those incisors, I'd imagine you tear the fish's meat from its bones! At least, I think you eat fish. Some bats eat fish here, and only three types drink blood, but most bats eat insects or fruit. But you, you're evolution in progress! A bat that deviates from the gene pool with its extremely sharp, strong teeth, and I believe you must have a lot of muscle because of your diet and your abnormal…" Dad went on like that for another twenty minutes, discussing Darwin and bats and what the Underland had to do with genes. Adrian's wings twitched even more, and she seemed to reject everything they suggested should be packed for the trip.

When Dad started talking about the three species of bats that drank blood, Adrian's eye twitched. Before anyone knew it, Adrian's head was turned to Dad, her eyes glinted as red as the Bane's had, and a low, predatorial growl rumbled in her throat that seemed to shake Dad into silence.

"What are you _doing?_" Mom's eyes grew in size as she watched.

Gregor looked between Mom and Adrian. "Uh, guys, isn't it about time to go?" He blurted out before Mom jumped to any conclusions about his safety in the Underland. Mom let out a breath and helped Dad up, but her eyebrows were still shot up. Gregor went to Adrian.

"What was that?" He hissed in her ear as he set her on her feet.

Adrian shook her head and ruffled her wings, avoiding his eye.

The group was silent, partially because they couldn't draw attention to themselves and partially because their final goodbyes would be in the laundry room. Mom and Lizzie went ahead as scouts, and when they said the laundry room was clear, everyone hustled Adrian into the elevator and descended. Gregor had to admit that the bat was better at using her feet that most bats. She moved faster, and hardly lost balance at all.

Almost everyone flinched when the elevator "dinged" to let them out. Gregor and his dad got out first, checking for people before they went to the grate that would lead to the Underland.

"It's open!" Dad called to the girls in alarm.

"That's funny," Mrs. Cormaci frowned as they all came to look. "I thought I closed it when I found the bat hiding over…" They looked in the dark nook of the basement, where there was room for another dryer. Someone was waiting for them.

"Oh. The blood-drinker found you after all."

**Okay, I admit this one's sort of long. If you read this far, you've probably earned yourself a pack of Oreos. Seriously, go ahead, take one, we just went to Costco and got a zillion of them. But no fair eating the Oreos until you review, okay? You can even have them if you tell me it's horrible. I only want to know.**


	11. iw Luxa and Adrian Resume Battle

**Wow, this was posted not twenty-four hours ago, and I got reviews, and I smiled all day! So, thanks to coyearth, Darkrider013, and LadyCorkboard, I feel confident enough to update.**

**Unfortunately, a lot of this was completely rearranged from the original format I had, for a reason that I think would be too confusing. This editing was kinda rushed, so please forgive me (and let me know) if something doesn't make sense.**

**Chapter Eleven: In Which Luxa and Adrian Resume Battle**

"_Oh. The blood-drinker found you after all._"

"Luxa!" Gregor exclaimed.

"Luxa," Adrian whispered.

"_Blood-_drinker?" Grace and Lizzie blurted at the same time.

The queen of Regalia stepped out of the shadows. Adrian's eyes narrowed at the sight of the fourteen-year-old girl and her shining hair and crown. The buzzing fixture of light above them made her seem iridescent, with her pale skin turned whiter.

"L-Luxa," Lizzie said. "What's a b-blood-drinker?"

"Oh, she has not told you, then?" It was hard to tell if Luxa was squinting or glaring at Adrian, but her tone was unmistakable. "Gregor, what are you doing with this flier?"

"She said I'm in another prophecy," He replied uncertainly, glancing between Adrian and Luxa. Adrian had a bad feeling that she had less credit with the Overlander than the queen did. "Luxa, what are you talking about? How did you get here?" He asked.

"Luxa!" Boots blurted before anyone else could speak, wriggled out of Grace's hold, and hugged Luxa. She hugged people often, apparently. Maybe it was just for today. "I missed you," She said.

For a moment, Luxa melted, and she seemed tired. She almost smiled, though, when Boots didn't let go. The child had a sort of charm, Adrian noted.

"No," Grace said. "No no no no _no._ Luxa, it's very nice to see you, but I'm just a little worried about what you said. You know? Something finding us, called a _blood-drinker?_"

Adrian blinked, and then glared at Luxa, who spoke. "I should not be surprised that the blood-drinker," She nodded to Adrian, "did not tell you who she was. But this flier is the blood-drinker of the Prophecy of Trap, and she needs you to-"

"We know, Luxa," Gregor said. His eyes turned to Adrian with shame in his eyes. Adrian could feel herself mirroring that feeling, as more eyes turned upon her. Gregor's father just showed shock- he'd noticed her teeth, after all- and Grace looked a mix between afraid and furious. Mrs. Cormaci was raising an eyebrow, and Adrian almost sighed; the woman was rather generous. Boots was oblivious, but Lizzie...Lizzie was hyperventilating. Grace wrapped her arms around her daughter and took a step back from Adrian, wide-eyed.

"You...you _lied_ to us!" Grace shrieked and raised a trembling finger to the bat. "You're a killer!"

"No!" Adrian said.

"Yes," Luxa said.

Adrian took in a breath and stared as the mother held her daughter behind her back in defense. As if she could actually protect her from an attack that wasn't coming. The desperation, the fear was no different in the Overland than underneath.

"What is she doing here? What does she want with my kids?" Grace asked. Her eyes darted to Boots, standing behind Luxa, and back to Adrian, who made no move towards any of them. Adrian could guess her thoughts as if she heard them, and she didn't like them at all. They were too loathing, too foul, too...human.

So, if she ignored humans and their emotions, why did it hurt most when Gregor stepped toward her with an expression of nothing but disappointment?

"Gregor, no!" Luxa and Grace both cried. Luxa grabbed his arm, but Gregor only looked at the hand, then at Luxa. They shared a look, and after a breathless second...Luxa let go.

Gregor spoke to Adrian. "So why'd you hide it?"

"I…I did not think you would understand," Adrian muttered. "No one does, not even Queen Luxa. And it is because of the name, which you know is not just a name. Who would believe a being that drinks blood? Not you." She turned to Luxa. "You never could even trust me."

"No, I could not." Luxa shook her head. "You maimed your own mother, blood-drinker, and you went against your own kind if only to drink from whoever you-"

"This is not about me!" Adrian almost screamed. "I do not know why you are so obsessed with my doings and my thoughts and my motives, but you have them all wrong! And you will not listen to me, regardless of whether or not I can speak!" Everyone was staring at her now, and Boots made a "shh" sound. Adrian spoke the next words into her chest. "I want to make things right. That is all."

"And how right do you want things to be?" Luxa snapped. "Do you need to repay the gnawers for your life? Do you want to avenge Ares's death? How will you manage that, blood-drinker? There is no way you can be sided with the gnawers and still be faithful to your parents. Your friend that we met agrees with me."

"Friend?" Adrian raised her eyebrows.

"A young flier flew parallel to us and informed us of your plan," Luxa said. "Or at least, the part where you were to take the Overlanders. We were headed to one of the entrances nonetheless."

"Who's 'we'?" Gregor asked.

Adrian and Luxa both turned to see that none of the humans knew what was going on. Even Boots had her brow together in concentration, trying to find out what was going on.

"Howard and Nike have stolen me up here," Luxa said to Gregor. "They await us."

"Howard?" Grace said. Gregor's mother spoke of Howard as if he was a son of her own, whoever this Howard was. "He's here?"

"Yes, he comes for you."

"I thought that was Adrian's job," Gregor said.

Luxa frowned towards the flier. "They have sent a flier to do a human's job."

"I can fit through the hole as easily as you, Queen Luxa," Adrian said quietly.

"Yes, I see you can still squirm through anything, easily. Our defenses, for example," Luxa said. "But what else may we expect from the enemy in the Prophecy of Trap?"

"Is anyone going to tell me what this prophecy is?" Gregor asked.

"I will, Gregor," Luxa said, and Adrian detected a hint of actual care in her voice. Like Silversnap when she spoke to pups, or like Aurora when she spoke to Adrian. "But we must depart as soon as possible."

"And so we agree," Adrian said quietly. Luxa had no reaction.

"So how'll this work?" Mrs. Cormaci- the elder woman who first found Adrian and didn't flinch at her form- peered into the open hole. "Do we send Gregor or Boots down first, or you-?"

"I will go first and alert Nike. She will catch me, along with Gregor, Boots, and Lizzie. The blood-drinker may follow."

"I can carry them," Adrian glared. "Credit me that, will you?"

"Oh, yes, carry them off and drink when we have lost you in the currents!" Luxa scoffed. "The gnawers will certainly allow at least one princess's death as long as the rager lives to help you conquer."

"Wait, wait, what do you mean _death?_" Grace interjected. "No one is going to die, Luxa. Tell me that. Because I know Gregor wants to go to the Underland but- oh, Gregor, you shouldn't go if you're going to have to be with _her!_" She thrust her head to Adrian.

"Mom, I have to go, and one person isn't going to change that!" Gregor said. Grace blinked.

"Did you just-"

"Yeah, I talked back. Mom, I know you're worried about me, but I have to go. I can understand if Lizzie or Boots won't, but I can't leave the Underland in trouble. Mom, I've waited two years, and now Luxa and Howard and Nike are here, and it looks like they're all in trouble. I have to go with them, prophecy or not, blood-drinker or not!"

Luxa smiled at him, and then turned to Grace. "Between me, Gregor, Howard, and Nike, your daughters will be taken care of. One of us will always be between them and the blood-drinker."

"I do not wish to harm them in the slightest," Adrian said firmly.

"Your 'want' does not change anything," Luxa muttered. She was smart enough to keep her tone low so that Grace, who had surrendered by now, wouldn't hear and change her mind.

Luxa decided to take charge of a new plan in order to get everyone down to the Underland. Adrian zoned out.

She had a pretty good guess as to which flier had been talking to Luxa, as much as she hated to face it. This was Darius's doing. He would want the humans to have a fighting chance, so much that he would give away Adrian's valuable plans. Right? Or was Luxa lying, and she had stolen the information from him? Darius could have had his mind changed and sympathized after living with Adrian, seeing what she was up against and what she had to do. But no, he'd asked her from Hestia to reconsider what she was doing. The thought made Adrian upset; she'd given him perfectly good reasons, and he was just going against her wishes and speaking to humans? Would these humans help? She knew Luxa wasn't much of a hand, but she'd never met Howard or Nike.

It was about now that she was going to meet them, though, because these questions had been spinning in her head the entire time that Luxa had been making her plan. Adrian could carry Gregor (seeing as the prophecy suggested they would need to form an alliance), but she also had to carry Luxa. The queen was never going to forgive her.

The Overland children took a few minutes to say goodbye to the adults. Despite Adrian lying to them about who she was, they were being allowed to go. Adrian did her best to avoid the hugs and emotions (and Grace's constant looks between her and the princesses), but she couldn't help but overhear Gregor as he hugged Grace.

"She's Ares' daughter, Mom," He whispered. "I have to help her and Luxa."

So Locklunge was right. The rager still had loyalty to her father. She hoped that would help him trust her. Blood-drinking didn't seem to be good in the Overland either.

Grace had approached Adrian after that, with her arms crossed. The spark of fear was still in her eyes, though. Adrian wasn't surprised. "Alright, Miss Bat, you have one chance to prove yourself. The next time I see my kids, I want to see them alive. And if you so much as _touch_ a hair on their..." Adrian had zoned out again. Grace was very predictable.

So now, after being shoved down a hole and having to retrieve two humans that landed on her back like boulders, she got to turn around and witness another flier catch the princesses and their two backpacks. The flier was about Hestia's size, with spectacular black and white stripes that would take attention from Adrian's single gold stripe. That was, if her stripe didn't have so much meaning.

The flier- Nike, most likely- turned around and returned Adrian's stare. On her back, a muscled Underlander, a young man, settled the princesses into a better position on Nike's back. Lizzie had her eyes covered in fright and looked as if the currents would send her tumbling off and into oblivion. The Underlander said something with a smile and handed her a wineskin to breathe into. Boots waved to Adrian, perched almost on Nike's head.

"To Regalia, blood-drinker," Luxa's voice rang in her ears.

"Why?" Adrian frowned. Locklunge's plan instructed her to take the three Overlanders directly to the Seek, a colossal puzzle that Lizzie the code-breaker would be able to use to determine which Underland creature would make up the army. The Seek was at the foot of the jungle, far from Regalia. And Locklunge would have a party waiting for them soon.

"Did you have another plan, blood-drinker?" Luxa said.

"She might," Gregor said. Adrian felt a little better.

"Why not take them to the Seek now?" Adrian asked. "We have the supplies, and the code-breaker."

"Gregor needs a sword," Luxa said. It didn't sound very impressive a reason, but she went on. "And they all need to see Regalia and their friends who fall prey to the gnawers."

"To me, this sound very much like a trick to have them fight for the humans," Adrian snapped.

"The humans _and_ the gnawers need to see that those above have been taken, so that the hunt for an ally may begin," Luxa said.

"Where fly we?" A deep voice called. Adrian realized that she and Nike had only been flying in circles while they debated their course. The Underland man- Howard- must have called out, because he was watching them with expectation.

"Regalia," Adrian answered, and Howard and Nike's eyebrows shot up. Probably they hadn't considered that she would speak, or at least that she would speak to them.

"Ignore it," She told herself. That strategy was one of the few things that Locklunge and Darius agreed on. No other reaction to strange looks would benefit her.

Trying to appear like she knew what she was doing, she swerved out of a loop and began to beat her wings, on course to Regalia from what she could remember of leaving Regalia. Nike followed and was soon a few wing beats away to her left.

Neither of the fliers spoke for a few moments. Howard had distracted Boots by having her tell him what had happened over the past two years, Lizzie was still breathing into the wineskin, and Gregor and Luxa were silent. Adrian could feel Luxa leaning against Gregor's chest, though, and wondered why that was so. She had figured Luxa a person who avoided contact. She had only really touched (and therefore trusted) Aurora and Cevian.

"You are the blood-drinker, then?" Nike asked in a low purr. She stared straight ahead as Adrian turned to her, not sure of what to say.

"I suppose," She replied. "But I am also Adrian." She rather wished her introduction as "the blood-drinker" would wear off, but she suspected that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"You are probably right," Nike said, and she gave a ghost of a smile. "That was unfair of me. All manner of creatures approach me and ask if I am the princess."

"Are you?" Adrian asked, surprised. "I thought Boots and Lizzie were the princesses." Surely Locklunge had considered that Nike was a princess? Perhaps one of the humans wasn't a princess, and then where would they be?

"My mother is Queen Athena, which makes me the princess of the fliers," Nike explained. Adrian let out a breath. "You are the first person I have met who did not know."

"I am different," Adrian said, hoping she seemed indifferent about it.

"I think you are." Nike swerved slightly to the right. "Because most fliers know that Regalia is a little more to the north," She added gently.

"Oh." Adrian's face heated up under her fur.

"May I ask how you came to be so different?" Nike asked sheepishly. "You see, we have only rumors and speculation as to she who sides with gnawers."

"Queen Luxa never told you?" Adrian directed her voice to Luxa, who shifted on her back. "She may know half of my story already. Or perhaps if she keeps silent, I may call off the gnawers and disappear to a place where I threaten no one."

"Will this go on the whole time we're here?" Gregor interrupted. "You two at each other's necks? Because I don't understand anything that's going on here, and if someone could tell me, that'd be great."

"He is right," Howard said. "With Luxa and the blood-drinker in constant battle, Regalia will starve to death."

"Starve?" Gregor sat up. "Why? What's wrong with Regalia?"

"The first thing you should know, Gregor," Luxa said quietly, "is that we summon you because of your mention in the Prophecy of Trap. Only you are not the warrior anymore, you are the-"

"Rager. Yeah, I figured. But aren't there a bunch of ragers around here?"

"Not an Overlander that we know of, and not one with two sisters referred to as princesses."

"Great." Adrian could tell that he was sarcastic, but he may also have been truly happy. Because he wanted to do battle again? "So why'd Sandwich put me back into his prophecies? I mean, if he needed me to do more stuff for him, why did he say the warrior would be killed?"

"No one is sure," Luxa said. "But then, no one knew the rager and the warrior could be the same person until recently. Normally, our scholars take large amounts of time deciphering Sandwich's prophecies. Years, even."

"Maybe I can figure it out now," Gregor offered. Luxa recited the prophecy to him, and Adrian tried not to listen.

"_**Bred by traitor, born in vines,  
**__**Clad in black save one gold line,  
**__**Haunted by the nameless dead,  
**__**The blood-drinker will rear its head.**_

_**Blood-drinker found, the trap is set  
**__**But neither side is darkened yet.  
**__**Blood-drinker and rager conquer night  
**__**And save who gave the flier light.**_

_**Above, the rager must be taken  
**__**Lest a part be long mistaken.  
**__**His princesses must ask and Seek  
**__**The army led by up and beneath.**_

_**Two leaders join, their minds deceived,  
**__**Blood-drinker and rager make enemies.  
**__**But one Peacemaker and his bond  
**__**Can save at the battle the one who chose wrong.**_

_**Among the leads, two deaths impend  
**__**Unless they both will make amends.  
**__**The leaders' hearts will seal their fates.  
**__**One wrong decision seals the gates.**_"

The name "blood-drinker" rang in Adrian's ears, louder and louder each time Luxa said it, and she let out a heaving sigh at the end.

"Something wrong, Adrian?" Gregor asked.

She shook her head. It was hard to explain, but she just didn't want to hear about her future right now. It seemed very dark and grim, and she didn't want to have to choose any sort of victor at the moment. She didn't even have the ally to back up her indecision.

"Do you feel okay about being in a prophecy?" Gregor asked, running a finger through the golden part of her fur.

"It is not good," Adrian admitted; she wasn't sure what "okay" meant, but it sounded like the opposite of how she felt. "I am recognized for things I do not want to be known for."

"So you really drink blood," Gregor said. He sounded numb.

"Yes," Luxa said before Adrian could explain. "When she was a pup, she would gag on the fruit we tried to feed her."

"It is horrible. Pure mush," Adrian said defensively. "But I tried. I thought if Aurora could do it, so could I."

"Aurora? What's she got to do with this?" Gregor questioned.

"Aurora is my mother."

The finger that Gregor was running through her fur paused. "Aurora?"

"My stripe is hers," Adrian said. "She gave birth to me in the jungle and told me stories about Ares and kept Luxa from taking me away."

"You dislocated her wing when you tried to drink from her! I cannot forgive you that!" Luxa exclaimed.

"Did you not think that I could regret causing my mother so much pain?" Adrian retorted. "No, after that you sent me away with Cevian until I could be trained to do no harm to anyone, and then the gnawers tried to take me away, and then two giant snakes and a fruit tried to eat me, and the gnawers saved my life and let me drink blood and then I went out to find my parents and watched my father _die!_ And it is your fault, Gregor, because he died when you could not save him, and it is your fault, Luxa, that my mother has not seen me since I was days old and may never find me again! So yes, the gnawers have become family to me and raised me, but they were only there to give me light because _you were not!_"

Adrian's ragged breath was all that could be heard after that. Everyone else stopped moving, even young Boots, who had been chirping Lizzie's ear off until now. Adrian had never had such an outburst before, and now all she had left in her were some very sad memories and an intense desire to drop Luxa and Gregor and go far away from everything.

Finally, Nike spoke. "We are here."

They looked ahead. The outburst was all but forgotten. This was the first thought that crossed through everyone's minds: "Who could do this to a place like Regalia?"

**Uh...review, please! I guess...god, I probably chased some readers away simply because I gave another one of those horrible filler chapters. But it had to be done. Review and vent your frustrations!**


	12. iw Hazard Hides in the Wall

**Okay, so I'm supposed to be doing homework. But five reviews?? Oh, jeez, how did you guys know it was my first day of school and I needed the support? I want to hug you all, but for fear of you people running away like you didn't after last chapter, I will name you and post another chapter in gratitude. So, my biggest thank-yous to coyearth, Darkrider013, saacool gregor and percy rocks, LadyCorkboard, and Sparky123!**

**Chapter Twelve: in Which Hazard Hides in the Wall**

The stone city of Regalia was a mess. The first time Gregor had seen the place, it had been glistening with torchlight and bustling with people. But now the city was literally ablaze with fires in certain spots, and there were more rats in the streets than humans. The rats seemed completely at ease, even gleeful to chase a human whenever they saw one in the shadows. No bats were circling the air, not even around the castle. And the fields where food was grown were half barren, and half filled with humans harvesting under the eyes of rats. The humans all looked bloodied and defeated. None spoke, except for one child who cried as she cut down plants with a sickle sword.

But the thing that looked most oppressing would have to be the gigantic net that ran from the walls of Regalia to the ceiling of the cavern. The holes were only about a foot in diameter, but no creature here could possibly get through.

"Luxa…?" Gregor was able to choke out. Over time, Regalia had come to be a safe haven in his mind, a place that would always be his home and sanctuary. To see it in this state was unnerving.

Apparently, Luxa had not expected this either. "Oh…" She sounded as if she had been hit in the gut. "Oh, no…"

"The gnawers arrived in Regalia less than twenty-four hours ago and announced at Luxa's birthday gala that they were taking over the city," Howard explained in a hushed voice. "The spinners had begun to put up the net just as we were following the blood-drinker to retrieve you."

"It happened so fast…" Luxa mumbled. Gregor wrapped his arms around her. Some birthday present for her.

"Where did Darius meet you and tell you where I was going?" Adrian asked.

"If you mean the brown flier, he came a few wing beats behind us," Nike said.

"Where was he headed?"

"He did not say. He only told us which portal you were to use, and warned us that you would not be persuaded to help us so easily."

Gregor wondered why Adrian didn't seem to have a reaction to Regalia's deteriorating state. Who was this Darius that she was more interested in?

"We will need your help for this, Adrian," Nike spoke again as she and Adrian swerved around the city. "We may be able to find a way inside, some sort of hole in the net, but if the spinners find us, we need you to ask them to let us in. The spinners may be on one side or be neutral, but seeing as you are a savior to both sides of this conflict, they must surely obey you."

Gregor thought that, from what he could figure of this prophecy, Nike was just calling Adrian a savior to make her feel better. But he was glad someone was being civil to her. She sounded pretty upset in her outburst, and he figured he would be too if people went around calling him a blood-drinker and hating him for things he couldn't help. But the part about her blaming him stabbed a hole in him. As much as it felt like it, he didn't think it was entirely his fault that Ares had gotten killed, but she was confirming his worst thoughts. And how could she have watched him die, anyways?

Gregor needed a distraction. Howard was playing a word game with Boots and Lizzie to keep them from concentrating elsewhere, Adrian still seemed like she was cooling down, and Nike was searching for an entrance. So that left Luxa, who seemed to need a distraction herself. She kept glancing over the wall, wincing, and turning away.

Gregor ran through a series of possibilities in his head. "I'm sorry"? Of course he was; that wasn't going to help, or even distract. "How's the palace?" With Regalia in this state, how would Luxa know? "I love you"? Not with Howard around.

"I missed you," He whispered. It was the best he could come up with.

"I have missed you also," She said quietly. "It seems there is less to do when you are not there. And with Ares lost as well…"

"It gets lonely, doesn't it," Gregor agreed. "So what did you do without a war to run or anything?"

"Lessons. Visiting with Vikus. Playing with Hazard. We still train for war, despite the times of peace, and Ripred often keeps me busy with lessons on strategy and how to be a queen." Luxa grimaced. "I do not know how you put up with him."

"It was pretty tough, I'll admit." Gregor chuckled. "So Ripred's still up and running? How's he been?"

"He became even surlier after you left. He has less patience, especially with me. He tries to teach me echolocation, saying that if you can do it, so can I. I believe he has missed you, since he often compares my temper with yours and talks about Lizzie and the foods she sent him."

"At least you could _talk_ about us. Mom wanted to pretend the whole thing never happened, and she was about to move us to Virginia so nothing could come up and steal us again."

"Yes, I was worried you had left." Luxa turned around and looked into his eyes. "I would have visited if I was certain you were still there, but until the blood-drinker and her band of gnawers announced that the Prophecy of Trap was upon us, I thought I had lost you." She bit her lip. "It was hard for me to accept. You being gone. I never did."

"Me neither," Gregor sighed. And suddenly, he wished they were anywhere but here, just so he could reveal exactly how much he had missed her. She needed to know his feelings for her had never faded.

"Spinners ahead," Howard called, and they both sat up. As if they could have a moment alone, Gregor thought despairingly. Howard had told Gregor that Luxa was off-limits, and things probably hadn't changed.

"Adrian?" Nike swerved up a few yards before she met the web and turned in circles. Adrian flew straight ahead, but almost collided into the net when Gregor pulled on her fur to stay on.

"One moment," She whispered to him and Luxa. At that moment, a gigantic spider with eight beady eyes scurried down one of the threads of the net with incredible skill and balance. It seemed to be glaring.

"Why come you here?" It asked in a low mutter. As Adrian and Nike swerved slowly towards the ground (they couldn't stay in the air without going somewhere), the spider climbed down the web, matching their pace.

Adrian spoke quietly, but with a subtle power that Gregor couldn't imagine Ares or Aurora possessing. She sounded a little like Twirltongue, the rat who had almost risen to power through her control of the Bane. "I am Adrian, the blood-drinker of the Prophecy of Trap. Allow me and my companions safe passage with no further questions. The gnawers wish it so."

The spider stopped, staring past her to Nike, Howard, Lizzie, and Boots. Gregor wondered if spiders cared enough to wonder why there were so many of them. But it knew about the Prophecy of Trap- or the wrath of the gnawers- enough to turn to the web and slash at the netting with its hairy legs and make an opening for two bats and their riders.

"Blood-drinker," The spider nodded as the two bats flew up and into the hole. It began to patch things up as soon as they were through, as if nothing had happened. Just like that, they were soaring above the outskirts of Regalia.

"Wow, Adrian," Gregor ran a hand through his hair. "That was…uh…"

"Unnerving," Luxa muttered.

"You are not the only one who can command, Queen Luxa," Adrian said. She might have been smirking.

"And that is what worries me," Luxa said.

"Blood-drinker…Adrian," Howard called. "We must take to the walls and remain unseen, if at all possible. Nike cannot be seen flying here."

"Why?" Gregor asked as they flew closer to the stone walls and sneaked behind several buildings.

"Hush," Luxa put a finger to his lips and looked down to the ground. "Do not be so loud. As soon as the gnawers took over Regalia, they banned all fliers from the air."

"What?!" Gregor exclaimed, and Luxa, Howard, and Nike all shushed him. Boots began to say "shh" too, thinking it was a game, but Lizzie put a hand on her shoulder. Lizzie had been staring wide-eyed at everything they passed over ever since the spider had met them.

"I should say," Luxa whispered, "that a flier may fly, but it is now illegal. Once one takes to the air, it is liable to be killed once it touches the ground. And because of the net-"

"They have to land where the rats can catch them," Gregor finished quietly. "But they can't just keep a bat from flying, it's like keeping a rat from gnawing!"

"They can and will do it," Luxa said. She looked upset. "It is a maddening system. Either a flier denies its nature and lives a trapped life, or it goes into the air and writes its own death sentence. And the gnawers have already enforced their law."

"Oh no." Gregor looked into her eyes. "Who'd they take?"

"Euripides. Vikus's bond," Luxa sighed. "The last I saw Vikus, he was distraught. Euripides tried to take Vikus and Hazard to the roof of our tallest building, and still the gnawers managed to take him down. They killed him in the middle of the palace, where many remained after Locklunge announced they were taking over the city. The true panic began then, as we were _leaving_." Luxa spat out the last word.

"We had to depart, cousin," Howard said soothingly.

"Wait. Who's Locklunge?" Gregor asked.

"The new leader of the gnawers," Adrian said from beneath him. "He raised me with his mate, Silversnap."

"Where's Ripred, then?" Gregor asked. If anyone could take care of this situation, Ripred the "Peacemaker" could.

"He disappeared, to the amazement of all," Luxa said. "I believe he may be headed for the Seek, where Locklunge is assumed to be. That is, if anyone could get past the trap."

"Well, Locklunge is in control, so he could probably get through alright," Gregor reasoned. "And this is Ripred. He'll get by. He always does."

Adrian made a sound resembling a sniff below them.

The two bats flew as far away from the light as possible, and the view that Gregor got of the captured city sickened him. He could see bonfires built in the middle of the streets for illumination, and see the rats rooting through homes and tossing anything that wasn't stone into the flames to keep them going. Some windows and doors were barricaded, and there the gnawers entered first to drag out a screaming human and send them to the outskirts- to the fields- if they were lucky. Sometimes the gnawers were bored or useless enough to- no, Gregor looked away. He could hear the punishment, though. His attention was drawn to one particular ally facing the stone wall of the cavern. Two rats were forcing a bat from a stone house, while two parents and a young child watched. The child sobbed and lunged for the flier, whose face was stiff with a suppressed emotion. Maybe defeat. The rats barked something to the family, and then to the bat. One rat raised its claws over the bat's head. Gregor was almost thankful for the cries that echoed to the right, so he had an excuse to look elsewhere.

Adrian spoke. "We are here, right?"

"Yes," Nike said, almost in a sigh. And looking ahead, Gregor saw why. Where there were normally humans that activated the sort of elevator that let visitors in without bats, there were two rats, immersed deep in conversation. Nike and Adrian glided around the smooth stone walls, and no one made any sounds until they had flown straight into the palace in one quick movement.

Gregor and Luxa slid off of Adrian's back, looking around. Luxa seemed as confused about the lack of people as Gregor was. The last time he was here, the place had been packed with all sorts of refugees, and while it had been disheartening to see so many wounded and homeless, at least he knew they were there. This was the hall with the open ceiling, where feasts and parties were held. Its barrenness only made him anxious.

"Gregor, where's Temp?" Something pulled his hand, and he looked down to see Boots with a wrinkled brow and a frown on her face. "Where's Temp?"

"I don't know," He told her gently. He was about to ask Howard, but Boots persisted.

"Hazard?" She swung Gregor's arm as if she thought he wasn't answering her correctly. "Where's Hazard?"

Nobody answered for a moment. They all wanted answers too. They were all taking in the piles of trash, the overturned furniture, the spoiled food and broken plates on the floor, and worst of all- Gregor shuddered- the sight of a few dead bats, half-hidden by overturned tables. Gregor shuddered and looked away from the carcasses just beginning to rot. Then…

"B-Boots?"

Boots' face lit up, as if she had just ran into the gingerbread house in her current favorite story. "Hi, you!" She started waving to random parts of the hall, and then frowned. "Where are you?"

"I…I do not know." The voice coughed. "Come find me."

"Oh! I can do that!" Boots clapped her hands; this was her latest motto. She covered her eyes with her hands. "Marco!"

"No, Boots," Gregor said. "This is hide-and-go-seek, not Marco Polo. We're all it."

No one was quite sure who to look for- the voice was too hoarse- but they sprung into action, searching in all sorts of piles and messes for a body. But judging from the size of the hall and the magnitude of the mess, the task was not as easy as they thought. Along the way, Gregor and Howard had a silent consensus to move the carcasses of the dead fliers before Boots or Lizzie could touch them. None of the bodies were breathing, Gregor noted. But on the necks, the chests, and- the worst part for a flier- the wings of all of the bodies, puckering claw marks and impalements stained the body in blood.

Finally, obliviously and frustrated, Boots called out, "Help us, Hazard!"

Luxa stiffened, and then started digging further into the piles. "Hazard, I am coming!" She yelled.

"Quiet, cousin," Howard said, though he did look even more worried. "Nike, do you sense him?"

"No," Nike responded. She was trying to move a table with her wings, and Howard went to help her.

"Adrian, how about you?" Gregor asked. The young bat was just standing in the middle of everything. Maybe she was using echolocation. Gregor cursed silently; why hadn't he thought of that?

"Do you not care for a single human, blood-drinker?" Luxa cried, turning to face Adrian. "My brother is _missing_ and you stand doing nothing!"

"First, Queen Luxa, I do not know what a Hazard is. No one has bothered to explain to me," Adrian said coolly. "And second, I believe this Hazard may perhaps be helping its own discovery. Listen."

After everyone stopped shuffling garbage around, they heard it. A very faint clicking noise was echoing throughout the cavernous room.

Boots giggled and started walking to a far corner of the room, responding with her own mix of clicks and English. She stopped at a large table standing like a barricade against the wall, rocking on her heels and continuing to exchange clicks.

Howard, Luxa, and Gregor ran over to pull the table away, and were at first perplexed, because they only saw a dark hole in the wall, a little more than two feet in diameter. But after some faint scuffing inside the stone walls, a gray little hand emerged from the left side of the hole. Howard grabbed it, and had soon pulled out a very frail, very pale little Halflander child.

"Hazard." Luxa wrapped her arms around him, cradling his head under her chin. "Are you alright? What has happened to you?"

"Where…where did you _go?_" Hazard croaked. "After the blood-drinker left, the gnawers were causing chaos and I couldn't find y-you…" He stuttered, and his hands began to tremble.

"He is malnourished," Howard said, feeling Hazard's forehead. "He needs water, and then something soft for his stomach."

"I've got it," Lizzie said from behind them, holding out a canteen that they had packed at the apartment.

"Thanks, Lizzie." Gregor took it from her with the lightest of smiles, and handed it to Howard. Lizzie only stared at them all with sadness in her eyes. It was obvious she hadn't expected or wanted to see this. She probably wouldn't be happy until she had found Ripred.

"Lizzie? Gregor?" Hazard asked before Howard put the canteen to his lips.

"Yes, they are here, Hazard." Luxa stroked his hair. "Here to help."

"Who else?" Hazard asked.

"Nike," Howard said, and then trailed off.

"I heard the blood-drinker. I remember her voice," Hazard insisted.

"Ah. I remember you as well," Adrian said from behind Lizzie, who practically jumped ten feet in the air as she realized the blood-drinker was so close to her. As Nike came forward to wrap her wing around Lizzie, Adrian continued without interruption. "You wear the same clothes you did at the party." She nodded to Hazard's spider-silk formalwear. "You revealed that Locklunge was more often in the jungle watching me than going out for food."

"You are the blood-drinker," Hazard said, staring at her stripe. "I was told of your prophecy."

"Everyone was." Adrian sounded sad.

"…May I ask you something?"

"Yes, I drink blood."

"No, not that. But…I have lived in the jungle too, and…did you know my father? Hamnet?"

Adrian seemed taken aback, because it took her a moment to answer. "…I did not. I have known no human in the jungle besides Luxa."

"Luxa?" Hazard turned to his cousin in confusion. "Did you two know each other? Is that why you showed me the prophecy? Because you knew her?"

"It is of little matter, Hazard," Luxa said soothingly. "Tell us, how did you get to be here?"

"I want to climb in the walls!" Boots proclaimed and began to stick her head in the hole. Howard pulled her out.

"No, Boots." Hazard coughed. "I do not like it in there."

"But you went in." Boots pointed to the hole and pouted. Of course, she'd want to go into a place she'd never been before. She kept sticking her head into holes back home to see if they led to the Underland.

"I had to go," Hazard said. "The gnawers were taking people away, and the fliers were trying to keep people from the gnawers. But the gnawers pulled most of them down from the skies, and I never saw what happened after that. Nike took Luxa and Howard away, and Vikus and I tried to follow on Euripides. But the gnawers got him, and Vikus covered my eyes when we fell back here, but there were horrible sounds. Vikus ran to help Euripides after that, and Dulcet found me and stuffed me into the vent and covered it with the table and the noises I heard afterwards…oh, Luxa, where were you?" Hazard moaned. He probably couldn't go on speaking, anyways. He was hungry and thirsty, and it must have been hell for him to be in a small, black place.

"We chased after the blood-drinker." Luxa summarized their part of the story while Howard made Hazard gradually drink the entire canteen of water. Toward the end of the tale, about the part where Adrian had commanded the spider to let them in, Hazard began to stare at Adrian.

"So," he said to the bat, "who do you side with? You cannot choose both the gnawers and the humans' allies."

"You know who she sides with." Luxa glared at the blood-drinker, who remained passive.

"I don't think I do," Hazard said, "if she is working with Gregor to fight another war. You cannot hate all humans, can you, blood-drinker? Will you help us win?"

Adrian licked her teeth, which Gregor thought meant she was thinking, but Luxa thought was a sign of her thirst. She pulled Hazard closer to her.

Adrian frowned, and addressed Hazard. "I hate humans who think of me as nothing more than a monster. It is not my fault if all humans think that way."

"What about fliers?" Hazard asked. Adrian kept silent.

"We must leave soon," Howard said. "We are lucky to have not been discovered already, and I do not want to think of what will happen if we are." He lifted Hazard in his arms and stood up. "It seems we have one hope, and that is the Seek."

"What's the Seek, anyways?" Gregor asked.

"It is a giant stone puzzle which Lizzie is to use to determine which of the Underland creatures will follow as your army. Locklunge is assumed to be there, and Ripred may be there to negotiate peace with Locklunge-"

"Which is nearly impossible," Luxa interrupted Howard. "Because the blood-drinker exists and the Overlanders are here, each side- we humans and the gnawers- think we will win. With that in mind, Ripred may not even be going to the Seek if each side is so conceited."

"But we must go there anyways," Howard sighed, "if we are to end this trap on Regalia. We need that army, now that we have the blood-drinker and the rager as leaders."

"Do you now?" An ominous voice boomed from across the hall. "Perhaps, then, you have room for an old ally."

**Wow, someone has to hate me for all these cliffies. Anyone? Because I really am sorry about this (I could have posted a lot more) but I really should be asleep right now. Ah well, review and sympathize/vent, please!**


	13. iw Lizzie Loses It at Last

**(*jaw drops*) E-eight...r-reviews... ****I LOVE you people! Because of coyearth, Darkrider013, LadyCorkboard, Sparky123, saacool gregor and percy rocks, DecemberSaturdayFan, NanaTuff101, AND Kizanna the Underlander, I am currently prancing around my living room like a false and ungraceful ballerina, and dancing like a ridiculous disco dancer. Now that's a horrible image. But you get the idea of how thrilled I am to get a record number of reviews. :P**

**Chapter Thirteen: in Which Lizzie Loses It at Last**

Howard sighed. "We need that army, now that we have the blood-drinker and the rager as leaders."

"Do you now?" An ominous voice boomed from across the hall. "Perhaps, then, you have room for an old ally."

Adrian was so surprised that she began to laugh. Everyone turned to stare at the normally sober flier, except for Howard, who smiled at the nibbler who had stepped out of the shadows.

"We are not alone here, then?" He asked the nibbler. "There are others in the palace?"

"You are the last," The nibbler said. "Though I do not know how you could avoid the gnawers stationed outside. The palace is the most heavily guarded building in Regalia."

"What _I_ want to know," Adrian said, recovering from her burst of giggles, "is how you got to be here, Tangent."

"Ah, you remember me, blood-drinker." Tangent scurried across the hall so they could speak quietly. He ran a paw over his whisker and considered Adrian and the group she was with. "I had only to walk in here quietly, as you must have. Most of the gnawer troops are feasting on the day's harvest, so the palace is guarded only at the major doors and the dungeons."

"What are you doing?" Adrian asked.

"I should ask you the same question," He said. "My troops and I are searching for Regalia for anyone that is not a gnawer. We think we have found a way out of the city. Perhaps you can persuade your group to trust me."

"No one would listen to me." Adrian shook her head. "You should know this."

"I did," Gregor said, almost meekly. His eyes darted to Luxa, who was concentrating on Tangent.

"When is the evacuation?" She demanded.

"Tonight," Tangent said.

"Can we help?"

"You are Queen Luxa?" Tangent asked. Luxa nodded and pushed up the gold band around her head. "Very well. You may help. In fact, because you seem to be the group meant to end this madness, you may be the first to leave. Our guides will help you through the tunnels."

"Guides? Tunnels?" Howard echoed. "You mean to say that you knew of this passage before it was needed?"

"It was a remnant of our last war, when the diggers tunneled directly into Regalia. My second-in-command, Grid, found the tunnel as she and a group of runaways were hiding from the gnawers. She and those runaways will act as our guides, as they have traveled ahead and seen that it leads to a place near Queenshead." Tangent frowned. "You really do not remember me, Howard?"

"How would the blood-drinker and I know the same…?" Howard trailed off and squinted at the ruddy-furred nibbler.

"Your father and I made a pact so that my nibblers could live on your land," Tangent said. "You were quite young, but you watched as if you yourself were a leader."

"Oh…oh, you!" Howard's eyebrows shot up. "Tangent, leader of the nibblers of the Fount!"

"He took part in the siege at the Plain of Tartarus," Adrian said. "He took me to find my parents."

"Yes, along with that other flier. The one who did not know what you are. What was his name?" Tangent asked.

"Darius," Adrian said.

"Ah, yes, Darius. Dare I ask where he is now?"

"I did not drink from him, if that is what you mean."

"Did you tell him of your prophecy?"

"Yes." _In a way,_ Adrian thought.

"Then where is he?"

Adrian was silent. She always was after a few sentences about Darius. The truth was that she didn't know where he was. And the question was gnawing at her. Too many worst-case scenarios ran through her head as if they were answers.

"We have no time for this," Luxa snapped. "When will the evacuation begin?"

"In an hour," Tangent said.

"Then let us fetch out supplies and go aid our people!"

"Wait," Lizzie piped up. "Why…why do _we_ need to use the tunnel? Adrian got us in easily, so…"

"Yes, Lizzie, but Luxa and I would very much like to come with you," Howard said gently. "And Hazard, if he feels up to it."

"I do." Hazard stirred in Howard's arms.

"We want to come, but the gnawers will not let us. We are supposed to be in quarantine," Howard said.

"But…can't you just sneak out and we go by air, and we can meet up outside? And the bats won't like the tunnels…" Lizzie was shaking now.

Tangent paused, and then put his tail on her shoulder. It was bare and pink, but Lizzie's shoulders unclenched just a little. "Perhaps _you_ do not like the tunnels," Tangent said, "but you will have nothing to fear. If you come, all your companions will be there to support you. And my guides and my troops will be at your disposal, to protect you."

"You be fine, Lizzie," Boots said and walked up to take her sister's hand. "You be fine."

"O-okay, Boots," Lizzie said, and quirked half a smile.

Luxa and Gregor both volunteered to fetch swords, and Howard was quick to suggest he come with them. But because Howard had to take care of Hazard, Boos got the very important role of looking out for gnawers while Gregor and Luxa got their supplies. Adrian wondered if Howard had only made up that role- Tangent said they were the last beings in the non-dungeon part of the palace- but she didn't have to ask. Nike did.

"You still do not trust them, do you?" She asked and fluttered closer to his side.

"I was hoping their feelings had died down over time," Howard sighed. "But Luxa was never the same since Gregor left, and it seems that Gregor may have had the same reaction."

"He was a lot sadder when we went back home," Lizzie told them quietly. "He hid this picture he has of the two of them so he could look at it. And he said her name in his sleep." She bit her lip. "Well, actually, he said a lot of names. But Luxa's most."

"I was speaking with Aurora," Nike said. Adrian didn't even hide the fact that she was eavesdropping now. "And she said that Luxa would often ask if they could go to one of the portals to the Overland while everyone was asleep. That was where they would sit and talk of their adventures. And it was the only place they could speak freely of those they lost."

"Who was lost?" Tangent asked.

"Luxa lost Gregor to the Overland," Howard sighed. "The two developed feelings for each other, as much as I spoke against it. There were others lost, but his departure hit her the hardest. It was as if a part of her had left as well."

"Aurora lost Ares, Gregor's bond," Nike said quietly. Everyone tried not to look at Adrian, save Tangent.

"I did not know your father was among the dead of the last war, blood-drinker," He said. "My apologies."

Lizzie burst into tears.

"Lizzie?" Hazard asked and sat up from Howard's lap. "Why do you cry?"

"G-Gregor, he…h-he c-can't forg-get Ares!" Lizzie gasped. "M-Mom t-tried to get him t-to forget- and m-maybe he could- b-but B-Boots keeps rem-membering and t-talking about it, and Mrs. C-Cormaci keeps coming and r-reminding us just b-because she's there, a-and-"

"Hush, Lizzie," Howard said. He gently got Hazard off his lap, sat next to Lizzie, and made her breathe into another wineskin. Adrian wasn't sure she'd ever seen a frailer being in her life.

"G-Gregor has d-dreams," Lizzie continued. "H-he screams Ares' name a-and Luxa's and R-Ripred's, and his sc-scars won't g-go away and…we just can't forget, okay?" She rushed out the words. "And n-now there's another p-prophecy and a w-war and so many m-memories are coming back and we aren't safe anym-more! We don't have R-Ripred and we d-don't have Ares or Aurora, or Temp or anyone I know who c-can protect G-Gregor!"

The room was silent, except for Lizzie's breathing. Nobody was quite sure what to say, since Lizzie didn't seem to trust anyone there. And Adrian was pretty sure she had realized what she had implied, because she began to breathe faster and cry harder.

"Blood-drinker?"

"Yes?" Adrian turned to Hazard, who looked at her with wide eyes.

"I think she fears you most of all," He said quietly, "so she may need your comfort most of all."

Adrian blinked. So she had given her sympathy to Lizzie once before, in the apartment of Mrs. Cormaci. But that was only a word or two to convince her to come to the Underland. Nothing much.

Most everyone was looking at her now, but when she met their gaze, they turned to Lizzie once more. Sighing, Adrian hobbled and rested next to Lizzie.

"You know," Adrian said, "I wish they were here too."

"Wuh…what?" Lizzie lifted her face from the wineskin.

"Ares and Aurora especially," Adrian said. "They are my parents, did you hear?" Lizzie shook her head. She probably hadn't heard; she seemed so distracted on the flight to Regalia. "They are. And when I lived in the jungle, I often dreamed about them. Aurora, for the short time I knew her, told me stories about how strong and brave my father was, and how they both would love me and protect me. As I dreamed, I was being cared for by the gnawers."

"I heard," Lizzie said. "When you were yelling at Luxa."

"Yes. But do you know what I learned? Even though I had never met a gnawer, and everyone I knew did not like the gnawers, I found that I could trust them. I was almost sad to leave them when I went off to find my parents, because they saved my life, fed me, and treated me well."

"But you left," Luxa said. She, Gregor, and Boots walked in carrying three large swords and an array of daggers. But the Overlanders didn't seem to want to interrupt, because they just stood there, waiting.

"You cannot honestly want to hear my side, Luxa." Adrian frowned. She thought about adding the title "Queen" to her name, but decided not to. Maybe it was learning that Luxa could love and lose as much as Adrian could, or maybe it was that she looked less regal than drained. But she seemed more…human. Not like a queen.

"I do not want to hear at the moment." Luxa folded her arms. "Time is slipping by. We have to find this tunnel."

"Of course," Tangent said, and everyone stood and followed him out of the room. Lizzie stayed next to Adrian and matched her slow pace.

"Do you miss your parents?" She asked.

"Very much. But I have to remember that I could see Aurora again. And perhaps it is better to know that I am doing everything to see her again, even if I cannot see her yet. And so are you," Adrian added.

"What?"

"By coming with us, you are setting out to find your loved ones. Gregor and Boots will be with you, and Ripred may be here in Regalia, or on the other side of the tunnel.

"What about Aurora?" Lizzie asked.

"Aurora is already out." Luxa held behind the group to speak with them. "She was with a small squadron of soldiers when the city was trapped. I would not be surprised if she is at the other side of the tunnel as well. She will find us."

"Temp?" Boots asked. "Where's Temp?"

"Oh, why is that name familiar?" Tangent said from the front. "Is Temp a flier? A spinner?"

"Temp is a big bug!" Boots said.

"Oh, the crawler," Tangent said. "Grid spoke of him. He helped explore the tunnels and will be one of our guides."

"Temp!" Boots squealed and began to run ahead of the group. "I gonna see Temp!"

"No!" Tangent scurried and yanked her back with his tail. She had almost burst out of the door and into the torchlight, where she could have been seen by all of Regalia. What had Darius called this? A tower.

"We must not make a sound anymore," Tangent hissed, "or the gnawers will know of our presence. We will travel by foot to the crop fields. A safe house will be nearby with the crawler, Temp, and out first group waiting for my signal to depart to the tunnel. Do _not_ make a sound until we arrive there."

"What of the fliers?" Howard whispered. "They are banned from the air, but they would slow us on foot."

Tangent stroked his whiskers. "I have asked that any able-bodied creature carry a flier through the tunnels. But this is a job most suited for a nibbler, and as there is one of me and two of them…"

"I will fly," Adrian said. "The gnawers will not punish me."

"You could lead them to the tunnel," Luxa noted. "And you do not know where to meet us."

"I will follow you," Adrian said. "I can fly from building to building, and I will take care not to be seen. You know I will not get you caught, when I need the Overlanders and they will not come without you."

"Can't you just fly through the net again and meet us on the other side?" Gregor asked.

"Would it not raise suspicion if the blood-drinker were to enter with us all, and then leave alone?" Howard asked.

"We have no time for this." Tangent was about to tear his whiskers out. "Just follow my lead. Flier, on my back, if you please. Blood-drinker, follow us only when the coast is clear and only when we have crossed streets."

Nike obediently set her stomach on Tangent's back, and he stifled a groan as he picked her up.

"You could fly with me, Nike," Adrian said quietly.

"Oh, no, I am fine. I have stretched my wings enough chasing you, anyways," She gave a light laugh. Adrian bit her lip and said nothing. It looked like a bad set-up. When Adrian had been on Cevian's back, the gnawers had found her; it could happen now, too.

"_But why would it be bad if the gnawers caught them?_" Adrian wondered as she watched the group move single-file onto the wooden platform that moved them down the stone walls of the palace. Surely she could talk the gnawers into letting them free. She was the blood-drinker, and they listened to her.

The only problem was that she couldn't think of a reason that the gnawers would consider enough to release them. Nike, Howard, Luxa, Tangent, and Hazard were supposed to be trapped in Regalia, starving to death, and the Prophecy of Trap mentioned no need for them. They weren't supposed to be doing anything, let alone escaping. And had Locklunge factored an escape into his plan at all?

Adrian fluttered from the palace tower to a stumpy building outside the wall, where Tangent was looking for gnawers before he hurried the group to another building. Why couldn't she do what Gregor suggested? Fly ahead, through the net with help from the spinners, and wait for them wherever this Queenshead was. She could probably find it. The gnawers said once that Queenshead was a day's run from the jungle, and she could fly a day's run in just a few hours.

But no, she couldn't go ahead. She sighed as she glided to another stone roof. Luxa would never let her live it down, even when she discovered that Adrian had not deserted them but had gone ahead. Adrian needed Luxa's trust, if only so Luxa would take her to Aurora. That, and the Overlanders weren't so bad. Boots was the first human not to fear her (though she couldn't know what a blood-drinker was), Lizzie was just a scared pup, and Gregor…well, he hadn't been too unkind yet.

So perhaps the entire group was decent, except for Luxa. Adrian didn't want to pass up good company. But she wondered how decent they would be when she needed to feed.

She thought back to all the times she'd fed in front of others. The gnawers had smiled and offered more of the carcass to her. The nibblers had backed away in fear and self-preservation. Luxa had screamed at, fought, and scolded her.

Now she could remember why she preferred gnawers to others.

Except Darius. Adrian had a feeling that he and Hestia had not been kind to her simply because they owed her their lives. Probably the humans and nibblers and other fliers only tolerated her because of that stupid prophecy. But Darius had not shunned her, even after he saw her lapping up her own father's blood. After a time, he could even watch her as she ate. He could even joke about it, and somehow she didn't feel offended. He didn't make her feel like a freak. He and his mother stayed with the gnawers, who they thought of as enemies, and though they disagreed with everything the gnawers believed, they hadn't left yet.

But now that Adrian was beginning her journey and not remaining in the jungle with them, would they leave?

Adrian and her group were about halfway to the border of the city when a pair of leathery wings echoed along with Adrian's. She broke out of her thoughts and spun around. What flier would defy the gnawers' law?

A reddish-gold wing almost brushed Adrian as the flier landed. "What are you doing, Adrian?" She asked.

Adrian was tempted- oh so very tempted- to say it was Aurora. But she could hug Hestia; she was almost as good. "I was wondering about you," She whispered.

"I cannot stay long." Hestia matched her whisper. "I am supposed to be on patrol for any other fliers, or anyone causing mischief. That is not what you are doing, is it?"

"The Overlanders and I are escaping. We came to Regalia for swords and for the humans to announce our quest for the army."

"It is a large group traveling, Adrian. There are three Overlanders, but there are overall six humans, a nibbler, and a flier present."

"We are bringing company," Adrian said. "Here, jump with me."

They flew to the next building. Hopefully, no one had noticed Hestia's fur shining. There were still torches about.

"Perhaps I should not have implied that I am working for the gnawers. I know how you work, how hard it is for you to trust. If you now want to help humans, I will understand." She shook her head. "But I know you at least trust Darius, if not one else. Does he know of this? Do you know where he is?"

"No, Adrian sighed. "He told Luxa, Nike, and Howard where I was going, but I have not heard about him since. I am sorry."

"It is not your fault." Hestia sounded forlorn. "Darius is a very independent flier, bound to anything only by loyalty. Whatever he is doing, it can only be for us."

"I miss him," Adrian admitted. "I want to know what he is doing."

"As I want to know what you are doing." Hestia laughed and wrapped a wing lightly around her small form. "For your sake, I will pretend I did not see you here. But my standing with the gnawers is not strong enough to protect you for long. Fly you high, Adrian." And so Hestia departed.

**What is it with me and fillers? But I will tell you one thing: the next chapter is, Chapter Fourteen: in Which the Evacuation Has Mixed Results. Apologies for the title, but at least you know I will be writing about how it turns out. Review, please, and let me know if you're at all intrigued about how this will go! I really hope you are...**


	14. iw the Evacuation Has Mixed Results

**Hi, people. There seems to have been a little mishap with my social life, so I suppose I just felt that editing a new chapter would help distract me. Not that I'm not grateful to Darkrider013, LadyCorkboard, Kizanna the Underlander, Sparky123, and saacool gregor and percy rocks for their reviews. They do help me out, honestly. And thus, your reward.**

**Oh, and for the record, I reposted Chapter Two in order to fix something vital I forgot (how Luxa got her scar in the jungle). Nothing major, I assure you, but helpful nonetheless.**

**Chapter Fourteen: in Which the Evacuation Has Mixed Results**

"We are here," Tangent said. "Someone summon the blood-drinker."

"I'll do it," Gregor said. Everyone nodded and filed into a small, one-story stone house at the edge of the deserted crop fields. With his echolocation, Gregor could see a swarm of people on the floor when Tangent rapped on and opened the door. He couldn't tell who was there specifically, but he'd soon find out.

"I want to speak with the blood-drinker," Luxa said from behind him.

"Oh…kay," Gregor said, taken aback by her presence.

"And Gregor?" She stepped forward. "Before that, I must know. Do you trust her?"

"I'm not really sure." Gregor paused. It was just them, alone in the street. Gnawers and humans and fliers and roaches and all manner of creatures could hear them if they wanted to, but that thought was pushed to the back of Gregor's mind. She looked beautiful, standing there and staring at him with those large violet eyes.

"Please be careful in your trust," Luxa said. "In the jungle, when we found each other, and I said Aurora dislocated her wing in a fight at the edge of the jungle? That was not true. The blood-drinker dislocated Aurora's wing, while she was trying to drink from her mother." Her hand gently touched the scar that ran from her jawline to her eye. Gregor realized then that this wasn't just about Aurora.

"I cannot forgive such an act of treachery," Luxa said, "and I think she may do damage still. Even to you." She bit her lip. "Gregor, I cannot let that happen. She managed to harm me after she harmed Aurora, and she has such little control. I doubt she even gives this injury a second thought, compared to her focus on Aurora. She is too strong, and too thirsty, and her mind has been manipulated by gnawers."

"Luxa, if she's Ares' and Aurora's daughter, maybe she's a little bit like them," Gregor said softly. "I think maybe she's learned after that incident, even if the gnawers taught her differently. She said she regretted hurting Aurora, and she misses Ares-"

"But she thinks it is your fault that he died!" Luxa's voice echoed, and she began to murmur. "When the blood-drinker first arrived at the party with Locklunge, she spoke with hatred unheard of in any flier I have met. _That_ is the gnawers' work. She does not like us, Gregor, though she may be pretending otherwise. It is unwise to trust someone who hates you."

Torches began to flicker out in the small house nearby. Gregor knew it was a signal. "Adrian!" He turned and called in a hoarse whisper. She coasted down as if she had been waiting for that cue, and Gregor told both her and Luxa, "It's almost time."

"Blood-drinker, there was another flier with you on the roofs at one point," Luxa murmured as they came to the door.

"An old friend," Adrian said. "She wished me well." The door opened to allow them in, and Gregor knew she would say no more. But he also knew Luxa wasn't going to forget to ask later.

"Good, you are here," Tangent said. "I am glad I could not hear anything outside. Now, our first priority is to evacuate the royal family and representatives. They make up our first group, followed by their guards and servants in the second group."

"_So Mareth and Dulcet aren't here,_" Gregor thought as he surveyed the small, cramped room. Boots and Hazard were sitting on Temp's black shell; Temp raised his antennas to acknowledge Gregor. Lizzie, Nike, and Howard were all resting on the floor, near what Gregor could remember of the council, as if to protect the gray old man that sat staring into space.

"Vikus!" Gregor exclaimed as loud as he dared. The left side of Vikus's face seemed to lighten and smiled as Gregor, Luxa, and Adrian moved to meet him. The other side of his face seemed to grimace.

"Vikus, we are here." Luxa sat down and laid her hand on her grandfather's hand. "Gregor agreed to come down with his sisters to help us win back Regalia."

"It's been a while." Gregor smiled at Vikus, who seemed to be staring at the young bat standing behind him like a shadow. Luxa obviously wasn't going to say anything. "Oh, and this is Adrian." Gregor gestured to the bat, who bowed her head respectively. "I guess you'd know her as the blood-drinker, but I just call her Adrian."

"Pleasure," Vikus said. He must be getting better at controlling his muscles, though it pained him to say one word.

"It is good to meet you too," Adrian replied stiffly.

"Ah, the blood-drinker," Someone sighed from the corner. "I had wondered when I would meet you."

"Nerissa?" Gregor turned and raised his eyebrows. She didn't stir, but focused her light eyes on Adrian. A jacket was wrapped around her, and she clutched it to her skeleton body with small hands that were as white as chalk. She didn't seem too different from last time, but Gregor realized that she was probably an adult by now.

"I have seen you here," Nerissa said, still speaking to Adrian.

"I have not set foot in Regalia up until twenty-four hours ago," Adrian said, slightly confused.

"Nerissa can see into the future. And the past," Gregor said. He wasn't sure whether or not to add that sometimes no one- Nerissa included- believed her, but Adrian didn't seem to care.

"What do you see now?" She asked Nerissa.

"You," Nerissa said with a ghost of a smile. Adrian's shoulders dropped. "But if you intended to ask about any visions of you, then I have seen bits and pieces. You are very perplexing, for all but the humans appeal to you. But the person- or group- that truly cares for you is closer than you think."

Gregor wondered if she'd practiced that. She sounded more like one of those gypsies at Coney Island than she sounded like herself.

"Oh. And my greatest sympathies for your losses," Nerissa added. That was a bit better.

Adrian frowned, trying to make sense of it, when a cream-colored mouse came around and whispered to them to prepare. She stopped when she came to the bat.

"Oh," The mouse said. "I am glad you are alive, Adrian. I only wish you were not here."

"Sometimes we must do what we must," Adrian said quietly. "It is good to see you, Grid."

"How strange, how the gnawers can inspire reunions between those who have not met in years. War brings us together more than anything," Tangent said as he came up behind Grid. "Do you know what to do?"

"No," Gregor admitted. His head was dizzy enough from these reunions. He hadn't expected to see any of these people for the rest of his life, but now that his wishes to return had come true, he had too little time or privacy to greet everyone he'd missed. And then there were new people to handle, and they all had a complex web of relationships and experiences. He wished he had Lizzie's head, to sort it all out.

"Very well," Tangent said. "Follow Temp, then. He carries your sister, so it may be little trouble for you to do so. Nerissa, may I help you up?" He said to the frail teen- or adult.

"Yes, please." Tangent offered his paw to Nerissa at her consent. Gregor decided to go find Temp, and he could feel Adrian starting to follow, but Grid's voice stopped her.

"Adrian, where is Darius?" She asked in a whisper.

_Darius,_ Gregor repeated the name to himself as he wove through the crowd, avoiding the stares and gasps that the Underlanders gave when they recognized his comparatively tan skin. Who was Darius? He needed to ask.

"An honor to see you, it is, an honor," Temp said when Gregor was close enough. "The tunnels, you travel, the tunnels?"

"Hey, Temp." Gregor smiled wearily. Temp was good company. Hazard had gone to visit Vikus, his grandfather. Boots was still chattering to the ever-patient Temp, but the cockroach didn't mind at all. "We could have flown through the net, but we're taking this way because Luxa, Howard, Nike, and Hazard can't get out any other way."

"Why through the net, go you, when not through the net, go they?"

Gregor took this as a question of why he could get through. He'd forgotten Temp's weird way of speaking. "Well…from what I know, the rats would let me through because I'm supposed to find them an army or something, but Luxa and Howard and all you guys are supposed to stay here."

"Goes too, the princess, goes too?"

"I don't know," Gregor admitted, looking at Boots. She was happy where she was, and he was sure she didn't want to be apart from Temp. Could he bring her to meet an army?

"Yes, I think she must come," Adrian said from behind him. "Because Lizzie is to use the Seek, Boots is most likely to ask our ally for help."

Gregor wasn't sure he wanted to hear that. Boots had to remember how sometimes bad things happened. She had fallen into a raging river, she had been cornered in caves by rats, she had watched Thalia die…she couldn't want it all to happen again, could she?

"Who are you, crawler?" Adrian said after a moment of silence.

"I be Temp, I be," Temp said. And then he asked- the first to ask without a trace of caution or fear- "Be you the blood-drinker, be you?"

"I be…" Adrian said. "This does not trouble you?"

"I be cold-blooded, I be," Temp reasoned. "Not threatened, my life be, not threatened."

"Oh," Adrian said thoughtfully. "I did not realize lives were threatened in my presence."

"Be you offended, be you?"

"Not offended, I am not…uh, no." Adrian tried to speak like he did, but gave up. He understood her just fine, anyways. "It is good to meet you, Temp."

"Temp talks to me!" Boots suddenly objected. "I missed Temp more!" Temp immediately clicked to Boots (an apology?), and Gregor tried to stifle a laugh.

"Ignore her," He told Adrian. "Boots and Temp used to be together all the time when we were down here. He taught her how to speak crawler, but she can only use it with him and Hazard, so she won't leave him."

"I understand why they are friends," Adrian said and watched the pair. The thought in her voice made Gregor wonder if she would want to be friends with someone like Temp. It had to be hard, living life with a label you couldn't deny. He found it hard just living down his reputation as a warrior/rager, but to drink blood…

"Temp." Tangent approached them, and everyone fell silent. "Lead the way."

Temp stopped just long enough to let the exhausted Hazard onto his back, and then he opened the door with his head and scurried out noiselessly. Gregor followed the cockroach in the blackness of the outside world, as did the other creatures. Howard and Luxa found Gregor and joined him, and they trekked for a few minutes, keeping each other's company.

The worst part was the near-total darkness. Somehow, the gnawers had figured out how to turn out the gas lanterns over the crop fields for the night- probably because the humans depended on the light to be on, and were supposed to do nothing without it. Small torches were carried sporadically throughout the crowd, but the people at the front carried none. Everyone had to rely on Temp's occasional clicks to determine where he was, because the torchlight only spread out a few feet for fear of being caught.

When Luxa and Howard began to stumble on his feet, Gregor began to wonder if it was more worth it to have the gnawers see them than to go without more light. For people who never saw the sun, they couldn't walk two feet straight without a torch! Finally, when Luxa was just about to topple onto Temp, Gregor grabbed her hand, set her up, and didn't let go. With his echolocation in her direction, he could see her almost smiling.

Over the past two years, his echolocation had improved to the point where he couldn't fall asleep without seeing his room, in all its black-and-white stillness. He could breathe easily and still have a constant stream of information. Right now, Boots was trying to teach Hazard rock-paper-scissors in the dark by shaping her hand in the appropriate form and whispering the name. For a five-year-old, she knew what "quiet" meant. Hazard just looked confused and didn't say anything. Howard was on the other side of Luxa, taking long strides as if he was stepping over something nasty each time; it was really to keep from tripping.

Breathing over his shoulder, Gregor knew Lizzie was close behind him (though he could have known another way- she kept stepping on the backs of his shoes). Two mice walked on either side of her, and she made sure she had a hand on at least one of their paws. Nike hobbled behind Howard, and Adrian matched Nike's pace in more graceful steps and hops. The bats weren't great on their feet, but at least they could see and not trip as often. Adrian even turned to face Gregor, as if she thought he could see her, but couldn't quite bring herself to believe it.

"Halt you, halt," Temp said quietly, and Gregor stopped. Everyone else stopped once they knew he did it, and they squinted in the darkness, trying to find where the exit was. They were far from any wall or cave-like surface, near the edge of one of the barren planting fields that the humans had harvested so the gnawers could feast that night. People lit more torches, probably because they didn't think any rats were around to notice.

Gregor looked around before he saw what they were near. Ahead of Temp was a small pile of dirt next to a hole in the ground, like someone had tried to dig to China and got bored in fifteen minutes. It would look shallow from this distance, nothing to worry about. But leaning forward a bit and clicking made Gregor recognize the echo that the hole produced. After a good ten foot drop, the hole turned into a tunnel.

"It's small," Gregor whispered to Luxa and Howard. "We might need to go single-file."

"Can you determine its height?" Howard asked.

"About seven feet, and four feet across."

"It will be cramped for the fliers and nibblers," Luxa pointed out. "But we may be comfortable if we walk in pairs."

"No, cousin, I see no benefit in that," Howard said firmly. Gregor couldn't help but feel bad. He could have kept guiding Luxa in the tunnel. But no, Howard didn't even want them holding hands…

"Overlander?" Gregor turned to see Grid, the mouse, with Lizzie at her side. "Make you arrangements for your sister?"

"Oh, yeah, she can walk with me," Gregor said.

"I would advise it, but Tangent has assigned you and Queen Luxa the duty of flanking Temp. Should there be peril at the other side of the tunnel, you may not want your sister to see it first."

"Uh…okay, what do you suggest?" Gregor glanced to Boots and Hazard sitting on Temp's back, He probably wasn't going to get Boots to go with Lizzie, and Hazard was too weak to keep up on foot. He'd just have to fight hard enough to keep them safe.

"We request Howard to aid Vikus and Nerissa in their walk. Lizzie may accompany him," Grid suggested.

"Howard, do you mind?" Gregor asked.

"Not at all. Lizzie will be safe with me," Howard said.

"Thanks." Gregor nodded, and put a hand on Lizzie's shoulder. She flinched; of course she couldn't see him. "Howard will walk with you, and I'll be just up ahead if you're scared. Okay, Liz?"

"And the mice?" Lizzie squeaked. "Tangent said they'd be…"

"Of course," Grid said. "I will be walking nearby to protect you, and to carry one of the fliers while I am at it."

"Carrying?" Luxa asked.

"We will go faster if each nibbler carries a flier," Grid explained. "I am to carry the blood-drinker."

At that point, Tangent came over and shooed Grid, Howard, and Lizzie farther down the line. He also asked in a fervent whisper that Gregor and Luxa take out their swords, as they were the only two guards he could find for the front and they needed to be ready. As Tangent scurried away, Gregor realized just how frazzling this could be, even for a strategist. They were supposed to evacuate an entire city, most of the citizens being scared, hungry, and miserable. This had to be done in a matter of hours, with no light and the threat of discovery by gnawers looming over their head. No wonder he had to make sure everything was exactly right.

Gregor took out his sword from his belt, and as he exhaled, he noticed Luxa smiling. "What?" He asked.

Luxa's smile diminished, but was still present. "Nothing. It is only that Howard said we should not walk in pairs. But how can he tell from so far down the line?"

"Yeah," Gregor grinned. "Thank Tangent."

Hazard coughed, and Gregor took some water from his backpack to give to Luxa. She fed it to the Halflander, her smile replaced with concern. Gregor picked up Boots, just to distract himself from how Luxa's wrinkled brow made him feel.

Temp announced that he had been signaled, and so Luxa picked up Hazard, and they all watched (or listened to) Temp drop into the hole, using his cockroach wings to break his fall. Gregor and Boots followed, and Gregor almost fell down and dropped his sister upon impact. But he recovered, and once he and Luxa had given their siblings to Temp, they started to walk.

For a while, the only thing to note was the sound of people and mice falling into the tunnel. The mice seemed to have more balance, and even had to catch humans like Nerissa to keep them from breaking bones. But as he walked farther from the opening, Gregor began to notice the terrain. The tunnel seemed to slope down at a sharp angle, but there were more left-and-right turns. Sometimes a smaller hole would branch off of the main hall, and sometimes Temp would go into the smaller opening even though it looked more treacherous than the hall they were in. Or rather, the smaller opening looked ready to fall apart around them; the terrain was bumpier in some places, and the ceilings sometimes sprayed dirt on them. But Gregor had to hand it to the moles who had built this: after two years, their tunnels were still fit for masses to travel through.

Gregor wondered how those behind him were doing. The bats must loathe being with such little space and air, and the mice must be muttering curses as they carried giant bats through tiny passageways. Some of them had to be hitting their heads on the ceiling, because he could hear bangs and feel more gravel sprinkle in his hair. And the humans must be exhausted (after walking at least an hour and a half), and frustrated with the darkness. Gregor could see every twist, turn, rise, and fall in the terrain, but sometimes torchlight neglected to warn the other humans of rocks jutting out to snag them.

"I wish Ripred had taught me more of echolocation," Luxa sighed. Though the gnawers couldn't hear them there, the tunnels could echo, so she spoke in a low voice. "What good are strategies and ceremonies if I cannot even conduct myself in the dark?"

"You say that now," Gregor smiled, "but I wouldn't repeat that when Ripred's around. He wouldn't let you forget it."

"And then my life would be nothing but sitting in the dark with a grouchy gnawer." Luxa rolled her eyes.

"I learned it when Ripred wasn't even close to me," Gregor said. "Maybe you only have to-"

"Hear you something, hear you?" Temp interrupted. Gregor immediately tightened his hand on his sword and listened. At first, there was nothing but the sound of feet and paws on dirt. But then, as if it was getting closer…it sounded like construction workers moving massive amounts of dirt with bulldozers- only very, very quickly. The sound was coming from the right wall.

"What is it?" Gregor asked, bewildered.

"It cannot be good," Luxa muttered. She turned and called out, "Tangent?"

"He is above, directing the next squadrons," Grid responded with a grunt. She was just a body or two behind him, with Adrian peering at them over her shoulder.

"Louder, it gets, louder," Temp said.

"I hear it too," Adrian said. People were beginning to notice.

"Like a cereal box!" Boots said.

"Huh?" Gregor asked, exasperated. People's heads were turning around in confusion, and unless it stopped soon, there would be panic. And how could they handle panic down here?

"When you shake a cereal box, it sounds like this," Boots said. "Only this gets louder."

"Right, Boots." Gregor nodded. She had a pretty good description of what was going on here. The shuffling got louder and louder as they walked on, until the right wall began to flake dirt. Until Luxa's eyes widened as she realized.

"No," She breathed. "Gregor, it is the-"

At that point, the wall burst into a gaping hole, showing rocks and dust on them with a sound like a crack of thunder. And Gregor found the claws of a star-nosed mole prying the walls apart.

Before anyone could even cry out, he was attacking. His rager sense kick-started to life, roaring inside him after being dormant for so long. He could pick out the exact point where claw met flesh, and so he hacked off the sharp nails that had been shoveling through the ground. As the mole let out a cry of pain, he stuck his sword into a tender spot in its head and kept it plunging until the head met the handle. It fell on its belly as Gregor pierced its brain.

Humans were screaming (Boots' was the highest pitch) as another mole broke into the hall a short way ahead of them, but Gregor and Luxa ran for it without another thought. Luxa did some fancy acrobatics to distract the mole and keep it guessing where she would hit, while Gregor battled his was past the protective claws and stabbed the colossal beast in its chest. Luxa jabbed her sword into its eye at the same time, so the mole backed into its tunnel before it too collapsed, bleeding to death.

Gregor was just trying to wedge his way out of the tunnel to meet Luxa when he heard a horrible battle cry. He emerged to see rats- at least ten of them- following the path the first mole had made and trying to frighten the humans into retreat. Luxa had already taken off, determined to stop the flow of gnawers coming in.

As Gregor ran to attack the rats already in the tunnel, he raised his sword. It was long and lightweight, easy to carry around once he had it positioned right, but he had underestimated it. That sword seemed to have a rager side to it too, executing every move to be precise and lethal.

His opinions were proven right when he pinpointed a weak spot on the back of a gnawer about to pounce on Luxa. The sword had struck home as soon as Gregor noticed the spot between two ribs. But now rats were turning to find him, and soon he had to face several attacks at once. His left side gradually became bloodier; as soon as the rats realized he didn't have a dagger for his left hand, they began to direct their blows there, and went for his right while he was defending himself.

A sword that wasn't his clashed with a claw that sounded only inches from his head. Gregor turned to see Howard deflecting a gnawer. He didn't acknowledge Gregor or Luxa, but only went on to battle. More gnawers were slipping behind the carcass of the mole, and the people at the front were backing away in fear. Some slashed at the occasional gnawer blow with whatever they had, some were backing away, some were already gone.

The number of gnawers whittled down, but Gregor found a claw or a tail always waiting for him. They weren't going to get through this. Luxa was trying to get Temp over the carcasses to safety with Boots and Hazard, who were covering their eyes. Boots was screeching: "DON'T HURT GREGOR!"

This was the one rat with silver fur that let her companions battle, and concentrated solely on keeping the refugees from anywhere. She slashed at Boots, but Luxa cut her sword between the rat and the toddler.

"We will not just stand by and let you leave," the rat snarled. "We have other plans." And she swiped at Luxa, who deflected the blow.

"My people will not die on your terms!" Luxa retorted. Gregor killed one of the other rats, and at its screams, the other troops finally began to look wary. They turned to pounce on the crowd that still remained and was trying desperately to keep walking forward.

The next moves seemed to happen in slow motion. Luxa saw two rats lunge for her people, and she moved to stop them. The silver rat aimed her claws for Luxa's throat. Gregor leaped between them; the silver rat's sword met with one ringing sound. The rat smiled.

The next thing he knew, Gregor had his back pressed against the rat's front. Her claw was at his neck.

"Nobody move!" She roared. "I have the rager, and unless you go back to Regalia, I'll take his life! And for those who do not believe me…" She grabbed his right hand with her paw, and held it up for all to see. Then her sharp claw sliced into the skin on the back of his hand, and she tore a diagonal line into his skin.

Gregor clamped his jaw shut, but it wouldn't stay shut. He screamed. It echoed through the entire network of tunnels, and no one, not even Luxa or the other rats, could tear their eyes from his pain. The silver rat was going to chop his hand off!

He formed words. "STOP!" was the first. "Stop, stop!" he cried, staring at the floor and trying to keep tears from his eyes. But her claw didn't stop, it was forging itself into his bone, leaving a permanent mark. It had to end! "Enough!" He said and dropped his sword to the ground. The act of opening his hand mashed the claw deeper still into his hand. Breath didn't come into his lungs.

"What was that, rager?" The silver rat asked.

Get your _claws_ away from me," Gregor gasped.

The rat let go, and he fell on all fours, panting. He made the mistake of looking to Luxa. The shame in her eyes cut at him all over again.

"Do you see?" The silver rat gloated. "He is only a boy. See how he cowers when he is in pain? This rager cannot protect you. Now back to Regalia," She said and bared her teeth, "or you will bear worse punishment than the boy."

After hearing Gregor's screams and seeing the threat the silver rat and her troops promised, almost everyone turned around and walked back as fast as they could. Or rather, those who witnessed everything turned around and gave sad looks to those behind them before the gnawers that were still alive ushered them, using their claws and teeth as encouragement when they didn't move fast enough. Many heads turned back to Gregor with disappointment he hadn't thought he'd see in them.

Gregor ducked his head down. Because this capture was his fault, because he was weak. Everyone now truly was a prisoner of Regalia.

Luxa, Howard, Lizzie, and Temp (with Boots and Hazard) surrounded Gregor, followed shortly by Nike, who had slipped through the crowd to meet with them. Lizzie and Boots looked distraught; Howard, Nike, and Hazard looked sympathetic; Luxa and Temp were blank; and Adrian…where was Adrian?

"Get away, gnawer, you will do worse to her than you did to the rager!" Grid squealed. She alone had stayed put, with Adrian burrowing her face into her back rather childishly.

Gregor slowly rose from his all-fours pose, ignoring the blood on his hand that was flowing freely. He had eyes only for the silver rat. She hissed at Grid, and when the mouse reeled back, Adrian fell off. The silver rat lunged for Grid, who scurried back far enough that one of the other gnawers could catch her and force her into the crowd of prisoners.

Adrian was left alone on the ground, and as Gregor stepped closer to the rat and the bat, he could see that Adrian's eyes were downcast.

"Adrian…?" The silver rat stepped closer to the bat, her back to everyone behind her. Her tone was softer. "You were part of this? But why…?"

Adrian opened her mouth to respond, but could only come up with "Silversnap…" As she fumbled for an answer, Gregor reached for his sword. He picked it up with his left hand, aimed, and stabbed the silver rat in the back.

As she fell to her knees, Gregor looked to his companions behind him. "Let's go."

**The Seek will be up next. Review, please.**


	15. iw Training is Resumed Unexpectedly

**Hehe, well, I must say I am rather pleased with the number of reviews I've been recieveing. I can honestly say that you guys are awesome people, and I'm so flattered that you're reading my story! ^^ So, with thanks and regards to coyearth, Darkrider013, Kizanna the Underlander, DecemberSaturdayFan, Sparky123, saacool gregor and percy rocks, and Lady Corkboard (I'm so sorry the last part didn't make sense! I'll see what I can do about it), I will be updating.**

**...Maybe I should update a bit more. I just typed down Chapter Twenty-Three and I was like "...oh jeez...I've got to see what they're going to do when I post this one!" A random note, but something for you to note for future reference. Now to the current chapter.**

**Chapter Fifteen: in Which Training is Resumed Unexpectedly**

Adrian watched the silver gnawer fall to the ground, and felt as if her heart had been clawed.

"Let's go," Gregor said. After a moment, every other creature stepped past the gnawer to help Gregor up and speak to him. Adrian stayed still and watched the light leave the silver gnawer's eyes. Those eyes that still looked to her with questions.

"You are lucky," Howard was saying as he wrapped Gregor's hand in gauze. "This is some of the only damage you have gotten from your first battle in a long time."

"I guess I forgot what it was like to have your skin torn open," Gregor muttered.

"I'll kiss it better, Gregor!" Boots said, and placed her lips on his bandage. He winced, but tried to smile.

"Nah, it's not that bad, Boots. Thanks anyways," Gregor said, but no sooner had he gotten Boots away when Lizzie was clinging to him, sobbing for him.

"While…while I wish my people and my family were free to see this," Luxa cleared her throat and spoke, "at least there is one bonus. The gnawer you killed looks to be the leader." And she actually smiled at Gregor. Not only was she congratulating someone, she was congratulating someone for this…this murder. And Gregor was being hugged and fondled and nursed!

Adrian found herself able to speak. "She was _one_ of the leaders." Everyone looked to Adrian, and then to the dead, silver-furred gnawer. "And it was she who rescued me in the jungle."

"Oh…" Gregor said, and looked at Adrian with confusion. "…I'm sorry?" He went on with a bite of his lip. Like he'd never had to apologize for a death before.

"Gregor." Adrian looked at the silver gnawer as a cold feeling settled down in the pit of her stomach. It was hard to acknowledge this. "You killed Silversnap."

"This is ridiculous," Luxa said. "We cannot have you mourning every gnawer who gets in our way. We must get to the Seek, before someone realizes what happened to this 'Silversnap'. Nike, who will you carry?"

"I stay with my bond, cousin." Howard folded his arms.

"Bond?" Gregor asked.

"Yes, Nike and I bonded in your absence," Howard explained. "Are you surprised?"

"Uh…no. Congratulations." Gregor smiled thinly.

Luxa was devising a plan to fit seven creatures on two fliers. "Nike, I will ask you to carry Howard, Lizzie, Boots, and Temp. Blood-drinker, carry me, Gregor, and Hazard. Know you the way to the Seek?"

Locklunge had described the way to the Seek exactly seven times. But Adrian wasn't going to tell that to Luxa, not when she had discussed Silversnap like she didn't matter.

"I will lead," Nike offered gently.

With that agreement, everyone began to light torches and embark down the tunnel (Temp noted that it was only a short distance to the end). Except Adrian. Her stomach growled as the smell of Silversnap's blood wafted towards her; she would have to feed soon. But no, she could not feed when Luxa kept looking back at the group as she walked down in the tunnel; to lap up even a bit would be unforgivable. And Adrian wasn't going to drink from Silversnap. She had drunk from Ares, and she had tried to drink from Aurora, but she was not going to touch Silversnap even in death.

"Bat?" A small voice chirped. Boots was sitting on Temp's back, staring at Adrian as Temp scurried slowly away. "Everyone else is going."

Adrian shook her head and stared at Silversnap's body, willing her back to life. Silversnap had been so good, and not just to Adrian; what was Locklunge going to do when he learned his mate was dead? Boots slid off of Temp's shell, pattered around the dead gnawers, and thumped Adrian right on the chest.

"Put her there," Boots said, rocking on her heels and waiting for Adrian to do something. "She can't escape there."

"Where is 'there'?" Adrian looked down at her chest, where the human had tagged it.

"There, in your heart. When people die, they go there."

Adrian tried to imagine a humongous gnawer like Silversnap fitting into her body, let alone her heart. But…Ares was already in her heart. If her father could fit, maybe he wouldn't mind sharing with Silversnap. Maybe they would completely hate each other and tear her heart apart with their fighting. But Adrian didn't want either of them to go away.

Silently, Adrian extended a wing to Boots and brushed her side. It was the first time she had willingly touched a human that was not attacking her.

"Perhaps you are right," She said, and with a final glance to the gnawer, Adrian, Boots, and Temp raced to catch up with the others.

It took half an hour to find the exit. Adrian's feet were sore from hobbling on cold, bare gravel, but Nike seemed worse off because she bumped into the ceiling and her talons curled beneath her to protect her soft feet. Exasperated waves could be felt every time she tripped, but no one dared to say anything in case they were being followed by the diggers again.

Locklunge had told Adrian that the diggers would be most likely to join their cause. The humans had taken the diggers' lands, and every attempt at revenge failed. With the result of the last war, even a delegate could not account for their losses and the poor treatment given to them by the humans. Like the gnawers, the diggers had not been given food or decent land. Adrian had thought all this made sense until she saw how…big they were. How could something so gigantic, so powerful, possibly not have its demands met?

Of course, there was Gregor the rager. Earlier prophecies had called him the Warrior, and with the swiftness and accuracy of his blows, who could call him otherwise? But then, Silversnap had him screaming…

Adrian was just reflecting on that memory when Temp called out, "At Queenshead, we be."

Temp and the humans climbed out of the hole in the ceiling, and then Gregor and Howard pulled Adrian and Nike out by their shoulders. It was fairly dark at Queenshead as well, but as Luxa came closer to the crown-shaped rock with a torch, Adrian could see all the crevices and small boulders that would make this a good landmark to stop at. A small army could find comfort here on the way to Regalia.

"Fliers, are you ready?" Luxa turned around and addressed them. Gregor began to inch his way towards Adrian.

"We cannot rest?" Adrian asked.

"Not here," Luxa said, and stood next to Adrian as if determined not to look at the structure. Adrian felt a flash of anger; they thought she would let them use her anytime for their own means.

"Why not?" Adrian insisted.

"Nike should rest," Howard said. "The tunnels have not done her well."

"She will be fine," Luxa said.

"Cousin…?" Howard stopped when Luxa looked up with tears in her eyes.

"Recall you Cevian?" She asked. "She saved me and Aurora at the jungle? She lies in these rocks."

"Cevian?" Adrian called out. The returning echo told her for a very large crevice where something very large but very thin was hidden. She began to limp for it.

Gregor put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "She died two years ago," He said. "We found her body here."

Adrian paused, and then looked to Luxa, who wouldn't meet anyone's eye. It was probably not the time or place to ask how it happened, or to mention that Adrian still remembered the large, gray-furred nibbler. So she let Luxa, Gregor, and Hazard mount, and took off without a word.

Of course, Cevian dead. If Aurora could be unimaginably far away, and Silversnap could be killed by an Overlander boy, why couldn't this be real too? This wasn't even recent. Adrian must have still been a newborn pup when Cevian died. Maybe she was in her heart too.

On Adrian's back, Luxa was cradling Hazard and feeding him small bits of food. She listened to Gregor as he recounted his rager sensation- apparently, it was not just a name, but a sort of feeling- and how it had worked incredibly considering he hadn't found seriously in years.

Adrian wondered what Luxa was thinking about. She had probably actually seen Cevian's dead body, and two years later, she hardly watered her eyes at the thought of it. Adrian remembered that it had been roughly two years since she had seen Ares's body, and sighed. How strict death was, to mold someone so that they hardly blinked at a murder. And it only took one or two times to harden the person. Luxa was lucky to be hardened, though. There was death still to come, and she couldn't be sidetracked.

Ah, here it was. The Seek. As Adrian and Nike banked closer to the small clearing in the jungle, Adrian remembered how puny and desolate it had looked when she had flown near it. Hardly anyone ventured here, so large was the colony of twisters that lived nearby. The ironic thing was, the twisters were very antisocial and would likely have kept away from anyone visiting.

Sandwich himself had overseen the construction of a wall to keep the twisters from a jungle base he planned to build during a war with the gnawers. Giant clay tablets barricaded almost half of the circular clearing, but the minute they had first been set in place, Sandwich had a vision and began to draw diagrams on all the tablets but the one in the center of the wall. People had puzzled, as had many of the jungle creatures, but they watched him plot and brought whatever he wished as he worked.

He asked for slabs of clay, in all shapes and sizes. With it, he modeled a very large stone wheel that sat on one of its flat sides. It was made of three separate circles, one wrapping around the other, that could be turned individually. The three separate circles all surrounded one small circle with the word "Regalia" etched into it, and an arrow above the word pointing away from it. The other circles had various letters and markings. From above, it looked like the ripple made when a rock was dropped into water.

When the giant wheel-on-its-side had been built, Sandwich said it was to be called a stone cipher, and then he set to work carving a rhyme on the clay tablet in the middle of the wall that separated him from the jungle. A few days later, the people found Sandwich asleep in his apartments at the palace. Somehow, he had returned to Regalia in the night, and he had left his small stone shack, the clay barricade, and the stone cipher standing one next to the other in the clearing. His ideas of a jungle base for the army were forgotten; Sandwich wanted nothing to do with the clearing anymore.

But before he left, he had written on one of the clay walls that this clearing where the jungle stopped growing would be called the Seek, and that a code-breaker would one day help a war with the stone cipher.

Code-breakers had tried, and code-breakers had failed, but anyone who knew Sandwich's other prophecies could determine that Lizzie would be the poor code-breaker who would have to determine what the stone cipher did and how it did it. Sandwich had left but one clue, the rhyme that he carved on the clay tablet in the middle of the wall.

As Adrian landed on the sharp gravel, she began to look around. The humans and the gnawers both needed Lizzie to produce information out of a big stone mess, and whoever got that information first would have a head start. Locklunge or his spies had to be lurking around here somewhere, waiting and listening for a breakthrough.

The humans and Temp slid off the fliers, stretching and looking about. The jungle and its sounds were not so far away, but here it was silent. Yet one couldn't help but feel watched, when surrounded by vines so dense and concealing that you thought your hand would be stolen away if you stuck it into the foliage. At least here there was actual light.

"It's like the Vineyard of Eyes," Adrian heard Gregor mutter. He wrapped his hand around the handle of his sword. "Something has to be out here."

"And if we are lucky, it will be a source of water," Howard said and peered into Hazard's near-empty wine skin. "I do not like the idea of going deeper into the jungle than we are, but for necessity's sake, we must consider it."

"I can help," Hazard said from Temp's back. "Father took me here on occasion, to show me a bit of life beyond the jungle. I can navigate." Adrian decided not to add that she could navigate as well. Luxa would do little but scoff.

"This is weird, Gregor." Lizzie slipped her hand into Gregor's and looked around. She paused when she saw the stone cipher and crept closer to it. The cipher was a good three feet tall on its side, so Lizzie could easily lean on it and study its intricate designs on the rings. Adrian couldn't tell what they were from this far away, and didn't care to.

"Is this… is that the Seek? The thing that everyone says is my job?" Lizzie asked.

"We believe so," Luxa said. "The writing and drawings on the walls are addressed to the code-breaker, so we-"

_Crunch._

It was a small sound, not very close at all, but all the humans jolted up at once. Gregor's sword was drawn without a sound, and Luxa and Howard scurried to the supplies (near the fliers) for their weapons. Everyone held their breath and waited for another sign.

And then something roared, loud and furious. But as the three elder humans began to change, they realized: it was behind them. So everyone jumped out of their places and turned to see a gnawer running towards them at light speed. She stopped at Temp, who had begun to run away with Boots and Hazard before Boots called out:

"No, I know you! Hi, you!"

The gnawer skidded to a stop, as did Temp. Boots and the gnawer stared at each other while Boots waved. And then someone began to chuckle darkly in the shadows. The humans looked rather shaken at the ominous laughter, until a large, scruffy gnawer with two scars like an "x" on his eye stepped forward from the trees. He seemed in stitches.

"Oh, she got you, Lapblood!" He gasped out, still guffawing at the scene. The female gnawer narrowed, and then rolled her eyes. "A toddler stopped you in your tracks!" The male laughed.

"I'm five!" Boots said defensively.

"Oh, forgive me, Boots," The male said and wiped a tear from his eye. He had the nerve to be sarcastic to a pup. "Of course you're five, how _could_ I forget your birthday for so many years?"

"Ripred!" Lizzie crowed, and before Adrian could blink, the girl was wrapping her bony little arms around the scruffy gnawer's fur. And despite the gruff nature he was famous for, Ripred didn't mind at all.

"Hey, Lizzie," He said in a quiet voice that could almost pass as gentle, and then he lifted the ten-year-old human onto his back. "You don't know how much I've missed you. And your snacks. Did you know Regalia can't make a decent doughnut?" Just one comment like that had brought a hiccupping laugh out of the weak, worrying Lizzie. And Ripred was being friendly, despite his reputation. Adrian could almost see the strings of a relationship between them.

"Well, enough training. You look like you've fought the war singlehandedly," Ripred noted their ragged clothes and exhaustion while still holding Lizzie. She stroked his fur slowly; maybe she could fall asleep right there.

"And what have _you_ been doing, Ripred? Dodging it?" Luxa scowled back.

"I expected a group of delegates to arrive here at about this time to plan a counterattack on the rogue gnawers," Ripred said icily. "And if you pups are all that escaped, I expect a little more courtesy or else the kingdom will never be saved."

Luxa opened her mouth to respond, reconsidered, and withdrew with a frown.

"You guys are fighting back?" Gregor asked. "I thought the plan was to get everyone out. I didn't think this was a war."

"If one side is in over its head, it's a war nonetheless," Ripred said. "We're fighting, alright. We've got humans around the Underland, albeit a very small number of them. They're ready to defend you from any gnawer attacks as you work on the Seek, but seeing as the blood-drinker is here-" he eyed Adrian- "I don't think we have much to worry about. So I sent them to try to get more people out of the city, preferably Queen Luxa and those delegates I wanted. If only I had gotten the delegates, but it appears that at least my bond has come to me on a silver platter."

"If this is what will help, I am here," Luxa said. "Now what is the plan you wanted to share with the delegates? And what do you know of the gnawers and their positions? I would not be surprised if they were here in the-"

"Save your energy, your highness." Ripred smirked, and then spoke as if to a pup. "We have a busy day tomorrow. I suggest a short meal, and then sleep."

"What do you mean we have a busy day tomorrow?" Gregor asked.

"Lizzie needs to examine the Seek, the queen and her cousin need to be informed of the current formations of the gnawers, and you're going straight back into training."

"Solovet's dead!" Gregor exclaimed. "Why would you put me back in training like she would?" It was about now that Lapblood had two gnawers approach her. They looked big, but hungry.

"Did you get a swelled head while in the Overland?" Ripred retorted. "Did your rager sensation last all these years? And I'll bet it works perfectly, right up until you're facing the leader of the gnawers!"

"Perhaps his rager sensation is just fine," Luxa snapped. "He has killed two diggers and at least fifteen gnawers on the way here!"

Ripred paused. "Diggers?"

"Yeah. Luxa and I killed two of them." Gregor puffed up. But, noticing Ripred's calculating and worried expression, he deflated. "Don't tell me you like them or something."

"Of course not," Ripred growled. He thought a bit more, and then ran a paw over his eyes. "Oh, this is making me hungry. Who has the food?"

Gregor and Adrian let go of their packs, and Howard began to root through them for something for the group. Every creature sat in a circle, except for Adrian, who sat directly next to the supplies while everyone watched Luxa and Gregor make things called "sandwiches". They did not look at all appetizing, nor did they seem to have anything to do with Bartholomew of Sandwich.

Adrian's stomach clenched. There was still another part of that blasted prophecy to attend to, and Locklunge would want to tell Adrian the new strategy for the next part of his plan. He had surely revised it, to account for the rebelling Regalians, the diggers- Adrian hadn't known them to be a foe _or_ an ally- and…as much as she hated to admit it, there was Silversnap's death to attend to. Who would be second in command now? And who would watch the pups, and help find things for Adrian to eat?

Adrian's stomach growled. Sometimes, when she got upset, she needed to eat. She normally tried not to drink more blood than necessary, but she figured strength from blood would be an advantage now.

She stood up and was shuffling into the jungle to hunt when a voice asked, "Where are you going, blood-drinker?"

Luxa had spoken, but all eyes were on Adrian's back upon the words. She took a breath and answered coolly without turning around. "I am returning to the jungle for a short time. I will be back before you wake."

"And what will you do?" Luxa stood up. "No one survives alone in the jungle, and no one sees a point in going unless it is to meet someone."

"I am seeing no one," Adrian said. She kept her back to them. Even the gnawers here did not seem to approve.

"Then what?" Luxa said. "I do not like the sound of-"

"I am _thirsty._" Adrian turned and glared at Luxa. The queen widened her eyes, and- Adrian noted with dismay- most of the others looked frightened to some degree in the light coming from the jungle floor. Lizzie held closer to Ripred, Nike stopped chewing, Hazard shifted uneasily on top of Temp. But Luxa sat down, and Adrian took that as an invitation to leave the party alone.

**I apologize that this is hastily edited and cut off early. I do, however, have the next chapter ready to post, should you care to see it. And you know how to ask... So please review?**


	16. iw Darius Helps the Gnawers

**Alright, what can I say, I really just had to post once more. The reviews I got from Darkrider013, saacool gregor and percy rocks, Kizanna the Underlander, DecemberSaturdayFan, and Sparky123 within the last twenty-four hours made me realize that maybe I placed too heavy an emphasis on the last bit, with Adrian and Luxa and the whole hunting thing. I suppose I just wanted to, I don't know, show how deep the grudge is or remind everyone that Adrian is still rather detested. Ah well. Enough with apologies, you can watch her hunt now. Hope you enjoy it!**

**Chapter Sixteen: in Which Darius Helps the Gnawers**

Adrian used her wings to accelerate herself, and tried to keep her mind off of the situation she had just escaped. Oh, they had all sat in a circle, happily eating meat and grains in silence. She would not, though; she could not. Nothing could really satisfy her like blood, nor could her stomach handle anything better. It kept her strong, kept her sharp; Locklunge said he had never seen a flier but her strike so quickly and accurately. It was almost like she had her own rager sensation, for fliers. But only because of blood. And because of that, she would likely suffer the sort of look that the group had just given her for the rest of her life.

The jungle was not particularly hospitable for warm-blooded creatures, but small bunches of nibblers and armies lived or camped near the edges of the thick vines. She tried to take the sickly of those beings, or at least those who were alone. Often, she could target those who went to the streams, because a camp was careful never to settle within sight of water, in case an enemy followed the water and found them.

And so this strategy succeeded, because Adrian found a lone nibbler coming to a small stream to drink and groom. It looked like it would only be here temporarily; it had the battle scars of a soldier, and the weary look of a traveler. Adrian flexed her talons and tested her teeth against her tongue as the nibbler curled up and leaned into the water to drink.

"_A little closer…_" Locklunge's voice reverberated in her head.

Five feet distance between her and the stream. The nibbler was on the other side, across a foot of shallow water. The light coming from the ground would illuminate her if she came any closer.

"_Climb,_" Locklunge had said. And she did. She pressed her foot and wing talons into a vine thicker than herself, slowly climbing. She'd done this enough that her eyes never needed to leave the nibbler.

The nibbler straightened and squeezed the water off of its whiskers. Its eyes darted around the jungle, but always at the same level. Never down. Never up.

Adrian's right wing was suddenly sweeping back in an arc. The left soon followed- nothing more to grab! She flapped, desperately trying not to tumble to the illuminated jungle floor. With a moment of her limbs flaying and one final thrust of her wings, her chest smacked against the trunk of the vine.

Adrian clung to the vine, feeling her talons etch through the cool, fleshy trunk of the vine as she struggled for grip. The nibbler's head was erect, its spine straightened, and its head flicked around painfully in search of the noise.

Adrian leaned her head against the trunk, closed her eyes, and held still. She recalled the scars the nibbler had been cleaning out. She almost wondered if this nibbler knew of the siege of Regalia, or if it had escaped. But then she heaved a sigh. And she realized what scars could imply.

Her eyes flashed red, and she climbed the tree with new resolve. The nibbler crouched to the ground again, slowly, cautiously. The jungle was thick, and all around them. Anything could be hidden. But by anything, the nibbler probably meant an enemy gnawer. So it looked around at about the height of a gnawer.

Adrian had reached the part of the vine that branched out into tendrils. A sort of bed was waiting for her. Too suspicious. So she stopped, looked down through the thinner shroud of foliage, and leaped with her wings angled to cut through air.

The nibbler's eyes widened, and then relaxed upon Adrian's landing. She smiled to it with all her sharp teeth. And then she hissed and sprung for its head.

She was proud to say that death came quickly to the young nibbler.

After she had had her fill- blood!- she found strength enough to carry the body to the top of the bed of vines that had looked so inviting when she first climbed up to it. As soon as the carcass touched the vines, it began to sink. Adrian dropped it, and hesitated as the body was slowly enclosed and absorbed by the neon green vines. Well, at least she'd known better.

Adrian leaped into the air feeling better than she had in hours. Yes, the group she traveled with despised her appetite, and yes, it hurt to feel their glares stabbing her. But let them laugh when she singlehandedly wiped out their entire army.

"Feeling better?" A voice called from above. Adrian couldn't help but smile as a brown-furred flier coasted next to her. He had a small grin that was diminished by the light in his eyes.

"A little," Adrian said. "Everything happening now is completely terrible. But I just fed."

"I watched. But I am sorry things are not going well," He said. And she could tell he meant it.

"I saw Hestia," She said, and made a loop so she was a little closer to him. "Where were you? We were both wondering."

Darius sighed. "I had a little…run-in with Princess Nike and her bond. And Queen Luxa." He examined her for any sign of anger. Adrian simply looked ahead.

"Could we continue this on the ground?" He asked. "The gnawers sent me to bring you to them upon your arrival."

"Of course," Adrian said, and they swerved to the soft, warm, luminous jungle floor. "I know you were with them," She told Darius as he limped ahead. "Luxa told me."

"I only meant to warn them that you meant business," Darius said bashfully. "You are supposed to work together to resolve the trap of Regalia, after all. They would need to know how to find you."

Adrian said nothing.

"Please know that I meant to act on your behalf," He said. "I did not mean for you to think I was betraying you. And I know you think such a thing, Adrian."

"Of course," She muttered.

Locklunge chuckled darkly. "If you want to punish me, Locklunge has beaten you to it. If you had not been flying, I would not have been allowed to approach you. I am to remain at Locklunge's side at all times. No special missions for me; even if I was in a prophecy as you are, he would not let me go. It is maddening. I think he has been taking pointers from Hestia as to how best to punish me."

Adrian envisioned Locklunge binding himself to Darius while Hestia instructed, and smiled slightly to herself.

"The gnawers have been talking nonstop about you," Darius went on. "Most are impressed with your diet, because they thought it was only a name. One or two even asked if they could see you hunt, just to be sure Locklunge was not making up a blood-drinker. I told them yes, but only if they would be the hunted. I believe that, to date, this is the one time Locklunge has not punished me for, because after that the gnawers questioned us much less.

"I can tell that the number of creatures on our side is growing," He said with a frown. "The spinners have pledged their full allegiance to us- something about slavery- and delegates have been sent to discuss an alliance with the cutters. The diggers have joined us-"

"I know," Adrian said. "They tried to stop a mass evacuation."

"Really?" Darius murmured. "I did not think it would happen so soon after the trap. How did it go?"

"Not well," She said. "The human royalty, some nibbler soldiers, and some fliers led citizens and delegates through the tunnels out of Regalia that the diggers had left from the War of Bane. When two diggers and the gnawer troops arrived, Gregor and Luxa killed most of them, but everyone was still forced back into the city."

"Who is Gregor?"

"The rager. The Overland boy. Darius, he fights like…like it was his duty to put us to extinction. He is savage." Adrian could still see the surprised faces of the gnawers that he had killed or maimed. No time for pain, just a chance to see his blade. Death came quickly.

"And I kill like he kills," Adrian muttered miserably.

When Darius said nothing, Adrian's mind wandered into the world of doubt. Was Ripred going to teach her along with the humans? Perhaps it was better if he did. She had been thirsty, true, but what if the nibbler had felt pain before it died? She was weaker when she was thirsty, so it would take longer to kill without the adrenaline. She could not help killing- in defense, in hunger, in accident- but she would not bear another scream of pain. Aurora had screamed.

"Adrian, listen to me." Darius stopped and faced her. She didn't want to look up, still lost in monster thoughts. "I want you to be careful when you speak with Locklunge. He may not accept thoughts or feelings like you have, especially at a time like this. At war."

"…Right." Adrian nodded. "I should get this over with, though."

Darius nodded mutely, and they walked for another few minutes to an area concentrated with gnawers of all shapes and sizes. They looked grouchy with their fur matted down from the heat, and most of them argued too much to see the fliers pass through. A few were asleep on the ground, and some were at the base of a vine cluster gorging on food that could only be Regalian. It was like a giant party for gnawers.

There was a part of a group of vines that sat on top of a slight hill, where the vines parted enough to allow an opening into a sort of shelter. Locklunge sat there, along with a few of his guards, all of them gnawing on various bones and rocks and watching the fighting. One of them- Flametooth- grinned at Adrian and said something in the commotion. Locklunge smirked, got up from his spot in the vines, and announced in a voice that shook the ground:

"The blood-drinker has arrived."

Gnawers stopped mid-scream to gawk at the black flier with a gold stripe. There was silence as Adrian made her last few steps to a clearing in front of Locklunge. Darius went to stand by the guards.

"And what news do you bring, blood-drinker?" Locklunge tapped his tooth and looked down at Adrian, almost suspiciously. Adrian didn't mind. She knew that here, the name "blood-drinker" was only for show, to remind everyone why she had power here. She had to look in control for the gnawers. If they lost confidence in her, they wouldn't fight. Maybe the humans would win and break down the barricade.

She took a deep breath. "I have taken the Overlanders," She said in her best "powerful" voice. "They camp now at the Seek, and will set to work decoding it after rest."

"What I would like to know," one gnawer called out, "is why it took the blood-drinker such a long time to take them. Why make us doubt her existence so long, Locklunge?"

"Right, my colony was beginning to lose faith in you. And they almost lost faith in me!" Another gnawer said, looking angry. Grumbling broke out in the crowd, but stopped when Locklunge spoke.

"Blood-drinker," He said with a sort of smirk, "why not tell us of the adventure you are sure to have had? Tell us why you took such a long time."

To the side, Darius bored holes into Adrian with his eyes. His wings ruffled at his sides, and his attention was rapt; no one seemed to want to know more than he did. But Adrian forced herself to train her eyes on Locklunge and speak to him. If she spoke to Darius, she could invoke her emotions into the story. That would be bad.

Adrian spoke honestly, starting with when Mrs. Cormaci found her and brought her into the apartment. Maybe the gnawers already knew that Darius had spoken with Luxa and Nike and Howard, since Locklunge was punishing him. Adrian projected her voice so that the gnawers would hear about what she had seen of the Overland, because it really had been a strange place with all their technology and their attitudes and Gregor's father's belief in "science". It had to be quite a life there.

Adrian explained without chagrin their meeting with Luxa and her friends, going to Regalia, and discovering Hazard, but then she surprised herself. She couldn't speak Tangent's name. A memory of Cevian struck her instead, and she realized with a lump in her throat that no one had really explained what had happened to her. She had a horrible feeling that Tangent could suffer the same fate. She named him "a nibbler" and carried on, hoping that the memories would stop and the awful feelings would fade.

And yet, as she recalled the faces- Nerissa, Vikus, Hazard- of all the humans trapped in the city, too young or frail to escape and yet desperate to try…she couldn't name them. She skipped her meeting with them and went straight to the attack in the tunnels.

The gnawers looked happy when Adrian mentioned the diggers and the gnawer reinforcements. It almost hurt her to tell them about the rager's merciless slaughter of most of them. The gnawers' grins dropped, and she may have been imagining it, but they could have been wondering what she wondered whenever she heard someone had died: "did I know him?"

"And Locklunge?" She said quietly. "Silversnap stayed behind when the remaining troops escorted the Regalians away. She saw me and wanted to know what I was doing in the tunnels. I was trying to explain, I only went because the Overlanders wouldn't go any other way. But the rager, he reached for his sword and…stabbed her in the back."

Locklunge stiffened.

"I am sorry, Locklunge," Adrian said, breaking character and mewing as if she was being tortured. "I was fumbling over my words and we both thought the rager was in too much pain to do anything. I am sorry. I did not think-"

"That is enough, blood-drinker," Locklunge said. "What happened next?"

"We flew here."

There was silence. Then a gnawer growled, "You came here? The entire group? The _queen_, and her quarantined friends, flew here?"

Adrian jolted up as if her foot was on fire. "Oh, they are here!" She muttered to herself. Oh, this was bad. Luxa had been so stubborn, and it had been such a rush, and now Adrian was going to be blamed for helping the most dangerous Regalians to escape! Oh, what if they found that Ripred was here? Locklunge was leaving dent marks in his bone, and when Adrian looked at him, he bit it in half. His steely cold gaze trained itself on her, and Adrian learned with a shiver down her spine that she probably had a maximum of one second to explain.

"Well, uh…blood-drinker. That is ingenious."

The head of every gnawer in the vicinity turned to Darius. Even Locklunge, after staring at Adrian as if she were the failure of his life, turned to face the brown-furred flier that he seemed to hate so much.

"And tell me, boy," Locklunge said almost calmly, "why the blood-drinker did not just ensure the humans' victory."

Darius looked down, moving his lips like he tended to when he was thinking hard. He liked to talk to himself, to get things straight. Then he spoke aloud. "Do you not see? The Regalian queen is free."

"Enough, flier!"

"Send him back to Regalia! His _home!_"

"_Traitor!_"

Darius ignored the gnawers' leers. "She is not free to go back, of course. She must stay here, hiding. If she wants to make plans to save her city- any at all- she will have to do so within hearing range of the blood-drinker, who will be communicating with us as the code-breaker works. With intelligence like that, you can crush any chance of escape the very minute the idea is formed." Darius began to look up, but he would only look into the distance. "What does Queen Luxa have? Her army and advisors remain in Regalia. In your hands."

"She will have an army once the stone cipher is decoded," A gnawer muttered.

"Not if we get there first," Darius said quietly. He sounded almost defeated when he spoke the next sentences. "Only the rager, the princess, and the blood-drinker are needed to find and rally the ally. And you will rally then to our cause, will you not…blood-drinker?"

He looked into Adrian's eyes, and she could see that these words were like death to him. She could tell at that moment he didn't want to point out an advantage that the gnawers didn't know they had. He was ensuring their victory. And his pain at this made Adrian hurt as well.

Then she looked to Locklunge, and remembered her place. "I will," She said with as much power as she could muster. It must have sounded pretty good, because some gnawers began to smile.

"I will," Adrian said with renewed vigor. Some gnawers cheered. "I will!" She said. "I will convince the allies to join our side. I will convince the rager to lead with me." Almost all the gnawers were buzzing, and many were whistling and cheering Adrian on. Locklunge had a ghost of a smile again.

"The rager and I will join, and the humans will be at our mercy," Adrian said. "The allies of the humans will be ours as well, and I will employ the fliers to tear down the net when we know that- finally- the humans will give us our food and medicine and land.

"Because who among you does not want what I can bring? I understand you. I know of your plight, and I will make that plight known to all who made you suffer. The _humans_ made you suffer. And I will not rest until they have paid for every life lost."

The gnawers were going wild. Locklunge was grinning. Darius's eyes were squeezed shut.

"You know I exist, do you not?" Adrian's voice rose. "You know what I will do, and why I am doing it? Because I want to know. I want to know that you will follow my word, and you will lend me your troops to fight alongside our ally. I want to know that you will trust me! Will you?"

"Yes!" The gnawers yelled.

"Then we will win!" Adrian thrust her wings up to the roof of the cavern, and the gnawers cheered enough to echo through the thick vines. Locklunge leaped forward to put a paw on Adrian's shoulder and listen to the cheering as if it were his alone.

"Well done, Adrian," He murmured to her. "You inspired more loyalty in a spontaneous speech than I could in a day."

Adrian flushed and looked down. She didn't know where that speech could have come from. She just took Darius's idea and made it even more appealing to the gnawers. And now they were celebrating as if they had already won the war. They gorged and fought, but in cheerful spirits.

She had told them exactly what they wanted to hear. She was supposed to force food, medicine, and land from humans while remaining allied with a group of humans who would sooner die than be at the paws of a gnawer. And to top it off, she was a flier, and her species was allied with the humans that had treated her and the gnawers so poorly.

Perhaps, by some miracle, Aurora would appear. Adrian could think of no other creature that could fix this for her.

Darius was at the edge of the celebration, and Adrian stood in the eye of it, but it seemed that neither of them could comprehend what was going on around them. Darius looked as if he couldn't handle anything that was going on, that it was all too much. Adrian was confused by his emotions; she meant to go over and ask why he could look so miserable, but exhaustion hit her like a stone wall.

"Locklunge, I need to leave," She said quietly. "They expect me."

"Right." Locklunge nodded. "Of course." He was still smiling, watching over the gnawers as if he ruled over them. Maybe he did. Adrian couldn't tell anymore.

Before she could be missed, she fluttered above the party and landed in front of Darius. She wrapped her wings around him and silently willed him to overcome whatever emotion bombarded him so he could become Darius again. All she said was:

"You saved me."

She didn't expect a reaction. And she didn't want one, because she didn't want anyone but the Darius that made her feel good. So she flew away, back to the humans that she was meant to betray. She didn't know if she wanted to or not.

**(*sigh*) I don't know how confident I am about this ending. Ah well. It's an update, at least. Let's see, what do I have to persuade you to review...oh! The next chapter's title is "in which Ripred Has a Secret about Ragers." Should be fun, huh?**


	17. iw Ripred Has a Secret about Ragers

**I'm so sorry I haven't been able to update lately! When school released me, fanfiction wouldn't let me load up the next chapter and edit it, for whatever reason. But coyearth, Darkrider013, saacool gregor and percy rocks, Kizanna the Underlander, Lady Corkboard, and stephanie wrote such nice (and flattering) reviews that I felt it couldn't be postponed any longer.**

**Oh, and does anyone know Flyfur and Sixclaw's genders? Because for the purpose of this story, Flyfur is a girl and Sixclaw is a boy. If you agree with this, I high-five you. If you have a different idea, I'm sorry, but I'm too used to this to change it now.**

**Chapter Seventeen: in Which Ripred Has a Secret about Ragers**

Gregor must have been completely drained, because when he woke up, he found half the party awake. Luxa and Howard were handing out beef jerky to Lapblood and two other gnawers- probably her children, Flyfur and Sixclaw, from what Gregor could remember of his one meeting with them- and the rats all chewed at the jerky with fascination. Gregor smiled; like she had been the best at chewing gum, Lapblood could handle jerky most easily.

"Can I have some of that?" Gregor said with a yawn and stumbled over to Howard.

"Good, you are awake," Howard said and opened the bag for Gregor to help himself. "Ripred was going to pour water on you the moment he finished showing the Seek to Lizzie. He plans to train you soon." Howard nodded past the giant stone cipher to the stone walls, where Ripred and Lizzie stood examining all the strange markings.

"Great. This'll be like echolocation lessons all over again," Gregor sighed. Ripred looked agreeable now, but he was talking to Lizzie, one of the most emotionally unstable people they knew. Ripred's temper was far shorter when he was dealing with Gregor, whom he seemed to think less of considering all his insults. And they would probably be continuing these lessons nonstop until Lizzie figured out all this gibberish about the Seek. Fun.

"We will suffer together," Luxa said with part smile, part groan. Howard stopped and raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?" Luxa said. "Ripred's echolocation lessons will not stop, even here. And he probably thinks Gregor has all but forgotten us in the Overland. Honestly, we _will_ suffer."

"He only does this to improve your chances in battle," Howard said. "He will most likely have an excuse for me and Nike to train once she wakes."

Gregor looked away from the stone wall and saw Nike on the ground, next to a small stone hut. He had fallen asleep himself over there, as had Boots, Temp, and Hazard. Adrian slept on the ground a few yards away, right next to the jungle.

"What's everyone else supposed to do while we're training?" Gregor asked.

"Ripred has arranged for a messenger to come here every few days with news about Regalia and the other species'," Lapblood said, having swallowed her jerky. "On those days, we'll convene and discuss tactics, and maybe find a way to beat the gnawers with or without an ally. We can only hope that the young ones can keep themselves entertained, because they're too little to do anything but help Lizzie."

"We'll help with tactics, right, Lapblood?" One of the gnawers asked with its mouth full.

"Yes, Sixclaw," Lapblood sighed, "but be patient. We might not always have a job for you except to be prepared."

Sixclaw grumbled something, but didn't press the matter. Though he (Gregor thought the gnawer was a "he") must be an adult by now, he had probably not seen much action. Gregor wondered if any of the more seasoned rats had explained just what happens in battle.

Just then, Ripred turned around and waved Gregor over. Luxa accompanied him to meet Ripred and a bug-eyed Lizzie.

"Gregor?" Lizzie said before anyone could speak. "I c-cant d-do this…"

"What?" Gregor looked in concern at his little sister. "Why not?"

"Because the size of the pillars is scaring her," Ripred said and gently wrapped his tail around Lizzie's shoulders. "You don't have to worry about a lot of this. Look, Sandwich's crossed out a lot of this." He pointed to every wall except the center one. On closer inspection, a lot of drawings of circles and gears were scribbled over or marked with an "x". This had probably happened when the clay was still wet- Sandwich had rejected these ideas the minute he had them.

"He's right, Lizzie," Gregor said. "They're just drafts. Probably nothing for you to worry about."

"N-not that," Lizzie said, and pointed with a trembling finger to the center panel of the wall. "It s-sounds like a p-prophecy. Gregor, I don't think w-we can h-handle another prophecy… N-not now… What would m-mom and dad s-say?"

Gregor had to crane his neck to get a good look at the letters as large as his hand. He skimmed over what looked to be a poem, only with a title that had nothing to do with prophecies. Instead, it said:

"_**This land, to be called the Seek, lies to the code-breaker.  
**__**The cipher broke, it can be used, if only it broke by her.**_"

And beneath, in bold letters- as if Sandwich wanted them to understand completely, unlike some prophecies- lay gibberish.

"_**Once upon a morning day,  
**__**A creature's kin arrived.  
**__**The princess could not run away  
**__**And decodes who will survive.**_

_**The wheels of fate turn left then right  
**__**Then tour the Underland.  
**__**The princess names a child of night  
**__**And joins a claw in hand.**_

_**The wheels of fate turn left once more  
**__**As two fight eye to eye.  
**__**The princess names the ally in store  
**__**By naming she who lies.**_

_**But amidst her group's discoveries  
**__**And the battle for the crown,  
**__**All company but two will see  
**__**The walls come tumbling down.**_"

The first paragraph had nothing to do with anything Gregor could think of, except maybe that the fate of the war depended on Lizzie. And sure, Lizzie was the princess as well as the code-breaker. But they knew all that. The second two paragraphs were just figures of speech that weren't specific enough to help. And what was the last paragraph? Who could answer?

Lizzie could not tear her eyes off of the words, which may have predicted her own doom for the way she looked, and Gregor found himself clenching his fists. Sandwich…Sandwich, who invoked him into fighting with his sword, the sword that had slain innocent moles. And though Gregor had broken the sword, he could not touch the invisible chains that Sandwich cast onto his family. They always had to play by his rules, just because enough people believed in his rules…

One stern look from Ripred reminded Gregor not to say anything until he'd cooled down. Lizzie came first, and it probably wasn't a good idea to enlighten her with their radical "Sandwich shouldn't have so much credit" theory while she was in this state.

Luxa spoke first. "Lizzie, you must remember that prophecies- that _anything_ written by Sandwich can be misread. Even if it looks hard, we have all figured out his work before. It is your turn now."

"B-but I don't know h-how!" Lizzie said in a dry sob. Ripred pulled her closer to him, and she wrapped her arms around his bony, scraggly frame.

"What's the matter with this, Lizzie?" Ripred asked.

"This isn't w-what I do!" Lizzie said. "I d-do cryptograms and c-codes…not this!" She thrust a hand to the stone cipher in the middle of the clearing, and would have lost her balance if not for Ripred's grip. "I-I can't even m-move that! And I hardly know about th-things like that!" She stopped, gasping for breath. In the light of the jungle, a sheen of sweat was visible on her forehead.

"Easy," Ripred muttered. He swung Lizzie onto his back with ease, and once Gregor had taken her hand and set her other hand on Ripred's fur, they moved to the stone cipher. It was colossal, but from Ripred's back, Lizzie could easily overlook the whole thing.

The outer layer, from what Gregor could determine, had rough, cave-like drawings of creatures. An oval with lines sticking out of it could probably be a cockroach, a very squashed "t" with a web-like membrane on the sides was most likely a bat...the circle had stick-figure animals all around, including some Gregor couldn't recognize. The second layer of stone, separated from the other rings by deep black crevices, simply had the letters of the alphabet printed on it. The third layer into the circle had "N", "S", "E", and "W" on the four sides with small arrows. And the fourth layer- the center- read "Regalia" with a triangle pointing away from the word.

"How many figures are on the outer rim, Lizzie?" Ripred asked. As Gregor massaged Lizzie's hand with his thumb, Lizzie buried her head into Ripred's back. She looked so distraught that Luxa ventured to stroke her hair.

"I-I don't know," Lizzie mumbled. "Twenty? P-please don't a-ask me, Ripred. Don't make me l-look at it."

"How many factors does twenty have?" Ripred pushed on, regardless.

"Six," Lizzie said.

"What's twenty squared?"

"Four h-hundred."

"And twenty cubed?" Gregor brought up her favorite.

"Eight th-thousand."

Luxa chipped in with another challenge (twenty-six cubed and then divided by six) until Lizzie had regained her breathing. Ripred set her on the outer rim of the cipher- her feet barely touching the ground- when he considered her coherent.

"So what's really the trouble?" He asked.

Lizzie took a deep, shaky breath. "You guys and everyone else are c-counting on me to do things I c-can't do. I can't decode a prophecy, and I-I don't want to. In all the other p-prophecies, someone gets hurt or k-killed or starts a war. That nursery rhyme did."

"It did what?" Luxa asked.

"Started a war," Lizzie said miserably. "And you guys want me to find m-more people to put in the war. And I don't know h-how I could! I can't even move this!" She smacked her palm against the stone cipher she was sitting on, then looked to Gregor. "Mom and Dad are c-coming down here. They're already m-mad we're in one prophecy. What if- if they find out I have to…work with another one?"

"Oh…" Gregor thought it over. She probably knew that everything hinged on the decoding of the cipher. And while no ten-year-old should have to contribute to war… "Lizzie, I think you're making too big a deal out of this," He said.

"Why?" Lizzie said.

"Well…whenever we have to work with a prophecy, we start with what makes sense to us. That gets us started, and once we're out there trying, things happen that help us figure out the rest of the prophecy." Gregor spoke gently, and tried to sound like he knew and believed in what he was talking about. He couldn't even try to logic his way out of "you're adding to a war". "So what makes sense to you?" He asked.

Lizzie frowned and looked to the clay wall, which was much easier to read from here. "I d-don't know," She finally admitted with tears in her eyes. "The first stanza doesn't have anything to do with a c-code, and the two after that don't even tell me w-which wheels I have to turn…"

Gregor and Luxa looked at each other, then at the wall, then at the wheel. Of course, the wheels would turn…

Ripred just grinned. "See? You know that much."

"But h-how am I supposed to-"

"That's part of the puzzle, Lizzie," Ripred interrupted. "What is the child of night? Who is she who lies? And how do you put those answers into this?" He gave the stone cipher a good slap. "I think you can find the answer. You're just a little nervous about…not finding it."

"Mhm," Lizzie nodded and sniffed.

"I'll tell you what," Ripred said and set her in a better position on the cipher. "I saw some writing materials in Gregor's backpack while we were eating. I'm going to give you some paper and a pencil, and go train with your brother. You stay here and write down anything you think of when you read the poem. I'll check up on you in a bit, okay?"

"Okay," Lizzie said quietly. Her eyes were red, but she was calming down, thankfully. She breathed easier.

"Deep breaths, remember," Ripred said. Gregor may have imagined it, but he could have sworn there was an actual bit of…_love_ in his eyes. As if she was his own pup. But that look had long vanished when he turned to Gregor and Luxa.

"Come on, you two," He said, and jerked his head towards Lapblood and her pups. "Let's see what you can do."

"Why does this sound like it will be bad?" Luxa murmured to Gregor as Ripred summoned for Lapblood's pups to come forward.

"Maybe it won't be," Gregor said. But even to him, that statement seemed a little dry.

At that moment, a very firm pink tail slammed into his side. His breath knocked out of him, he fell to the ground on his back, and then pushed himself into a standing position to deal with the attacker.

Ripred grunted and tackled Gregor back onto the moss-covered ground, aiming his claws for Gregor's face. His tail wrapped around one of Gregor's legs, anchoring him to the ground so he had to do battle. Gregor concentrated mainly on the flailing paws that distracted him, and though Ripred's claws kept scratching and stinging him when he thought he'd deflected another blow, Gregor had his moments. Once, he swiped at the intersecting scars over Ripred's eye; it was a stroke of luck, really. But that was what got the rat off, hissing inhumanely and hold his eye as if he had just been blinded. They stood there for a moment, panting.

"What was that?" Luxa snapped.

"He hasn't forgotten much, I'll give him that," Ripred grumbled, then blinked a few times and looked around. The others in the clearing were either asleep or oblivious to the sudden fight. Did they think it was part of training? Or was it just a smaller fight than Gregor thought?

"Always be on your guard. I know you didn't expect that, but you pulled through- about fifteen seconds after the threat." Ripred sniffed. "All the best defense will be useless when you can't handle a single blow without warning. That goes for you two, too," He said to Flyfur and Sixclaw, who had come forward.

"Are you teaching them too?" Luxa asked with a frown. She probably didn't have much experience with Lapblood and her pups, provided she'd only dropped into their mission in the jungle when they were almost at the starshade.

"When I had Lapblood attack you when you arrived, I was teaching them," Ripred said simply. "That's another thing to remember. A blow can come from anywhere. Never attack until you have proof of where that blow is headed."

"I have heard this all before," Luxa grumbled.

"And you have forgotten it!" Ripred snarled. Suddenly, he was three feet above her, his teeth looming in a scowl above her head. "If I'm to re-teach your highness how not to get yourself killed at the hands of your enemies, I should like to hurry up and get it over with. So then I can teach you to…oh, I don't know, save someone besides yourself?"

Luxa was scarlet. "If you are suggesting that I worry only for my own life, let me tell you now-"

"I can make this pleasant," Ripred said, ignoring her, "or we can stand here arguing until Lizzie figures out the cipher and we have to set off to our brand new army without ever knowing how to lead them. Which one will save Regalia?"

He had a point, of course. Luxa shut up, but glowered for a full hour while Ripred ran through some basic hand-to-hand combat. The object here wasn't to kill, merely to disable the opponent long enough to get a weapon, get help, or get out. There were all sorts of pressure points that Ripred tried to drill into their heads, but they were different for all different bodies of creatures. So Ripred made them memorize the absolutely major ones on the creatures they were most likely to encounter.

Then he set them to practice. Gregor was about to pair up with Luxa- it seemed fair enough of a fight, what with size and strength- but Ripred intervened and paired him with Flyfur. Luxa got Sixclaw. This was supposed to set them in a realistic situation, where they would have to disable a fully-grown gnawer. But by the time Ripred had announced "go" six times, and Flyfur had tagged his pressure points and made him numb or paralyzed six times, Gregor began to wonder if Ripred was holding some kind of grudge against him.

"Up," Ripred said, nudging Gregor on the ground with his foot. Gregor shut his eyes; he had been roughly jabbed twice in a place that tingled if he just touched it. Ripred sighed. "Howard, I need water," He called.

"I am sorry," Flyfur said and helped him up to his feet.

"It's fine," Gregor said, shook his head, and tried to regain his composure. Boots was up, playing a game with Temp and Hazard, and Lizzie was darting between her notes and the stone wall as if the latter were a teacher. But his sisters could both see Gregor on the ground at any moment, and he didn't want them to worry.

"Perhaps it would help if you aimed higher," Flyfur suggested. Gregor thought she was a girl. "You seem to expect that I'll be eye level with you when we fight. But a gnawer likes to act bigger in battle, to keep humans from finding weak points."

"Another one of Ripred's teachings?" Gregor asked.

"Yes. Whenever Lapblood brings us with her, we go with him. And he likes to make everything a point about how stupid mistakes can kill us."

"And Lapblood completely agrees with him," Sixclaw said. He and Luxa had come to join the conversation. Luxa was pretty bruised, but at least she looked like she'd done something back to Sixclaw. "I think sometimes she visits Ripred just so we can learn from him. Maybe she wants us to be the new generals. With everything Ripred talks about, you'd think we were."

"I think it's something else," Flyfur said. "If she wanted us to lead the gnawers, she would give us something other than endless training. I don't think she's teaching us to attack. It's more like…she is teaching us to defend ourselves."

"Who wouldn't?" Ripred came in, bearing two large water bags that Howard had filled. "With that idiot father of yours, of course she'd want to make sure you were safe. Stupidity is contagious." He glared over to Lapblood, who was helping Howard set up supplies in the small stone house so that a few of the party could sleep in there. "Although why she makes it my responsibility to teach you…"

"He died here, didn't he?" Flyfur asked. "Mange? I thought I heard Lapblood talking about it in her sleep."

"When I first met Lapblood here, she had no mate," Luxa said. "She was the only gnawer apart from Ripred."

"Mange was just killed when we ran into you," Gregor said after he had taken a sip (or gallon, considering the jungle heat) from the water bag that Ripred had passed him.

"Ah, right. I recall that Lapblood seemed very upset. She did not even seem glad to find fresh water. But there was something you said, that got her to get out of the quicksand…" Luxa frowned.

"I said the names of her pups. Uh, sorry, I meant you two," Gregor said to Flyfur and Sixclaw. "She and Mange came into the jungle to find the cure for the disease that some other pups had- your siblings had- but then…" He trailed off. Flyfur and Sixclaw could only blink. Maybe they hadn't heard so much about their father before.

"How did he die?" A new voice asked from behind Gregor. Adrian had woken up. "Mange. How did he die?"

"A plant ate him," Gregor said, turning to face her. "We were starving, and he got too close to it because he thought it was edible."

Adrian almost looked sad. She turned to Flyfur and Sixclaw, who were frozen in place. "I was once almost eaten by a fruit. For one who does not care for fruit, I must say the experience was bad. I am sorry."

Flyfur and Sixclaw must have heard, but either didn't care or didn't want to hear. Sixclaw had a distant look in his eyes, but Flyfur looked plain frightened.

"I can see we won't get any further with you two today," Ripred sighed. "Go speak with your mother. You're done for now."

"What?" Luxa said as the two full-grown gnawers scurried over to their mother as if they were pups again. "Why are they dismissed?"

"What would you do if you learned that your father was not as heroic as you thought he was?" Ripred snapped. "I couldn't keep you focused, not after you discovered such a family secret. But because you have none, and Flyfur and Sixclaw have learned of Mange after years of their mother hiding his memory, I think it best they go. Besides, you're dismissed too."

"What?" Luxa's voice rose.

"I want to run a few drills with Gregor on the blood-drinker's back. And seeing as your other bond is many miles away and I can't fly, you can't do this. Dismissed."

Luxa closed her eyes, and left after a moment. Gregor didn't think her pained expression was because she wanted to train more. It was probably more to do with the mention of Aurora. Luxa and Aurora had hardly ever been separated before, but now…well, he could only hope they were coping. It was like Temp being away from Boots: one of those things you'd never think possible.

"Blood-drinker, go eat something," Ripred said. He sounded tired, and he was beginning to run a paw through the fur on his head every few minutes.

"I hunted yesterday," Adrian said.

"Go groom."

"I will be fine."

"Fine, then stretch, hunt, fly…just go, for five minutes!" Ripred huffed.

"…Ripred, do you really want me to train?" Adrian sounded nervous. "Most people do not trust me with their company, let alone their plans-"

"We're different here, blood-drinker," Ripred said. "Luxa's a queen without anyone to command, Gregor's hardly trained enough to be put in battle, rager or not-" Gregor scowled "-we're accompanied by pups that shouldn't be seeing any of this, and of course yours truly fights with humans. If we want this war to end, regardless of the victor, we want you to work with us."

Adrian nodded as if in bewilderment. "I…understand. I will fly a little, to stretch."

"Good girl," Ripred called as she ran and took a flying leap into the air. Then he turned to Gregor. "We need to be careful with that one."

"So am I dismissed too?" Gregor asked.

"No, actually." Ripred ran a paw over his eyes. "I just needed a moment where we could talk alone. Because you should know something. About ragers."

Gregor's stomach clenched. He had a feeling that this would be bad, like he was going to die in two weeks because of this sensation. "What is it?"

"…I was hoping I'd never have to tell you this. I thought that if you would just go back to the Overland, I wouldn't have to explain it, because it hardly matters up there. But now that you're here, I have to protect you. So…all ragers have a weakness."

"…Wait. That's it?"

"What do you mean, 'that's it'?" Ripred scowled. "You've never wondered how those rager powers worked, have you? No one can be completely invincible, we've all got to be weak somehow. And this isn't a weakness like something you can't do well. It's like…oh, like Greek mythology, those stories that the fliers like so much. There was a man, Achilles, who became invincible except for one tiny spot-"

"On his heel," Gregor said. He didn't know much about the myth, but he'd heard of an Achilles heel before.

"Right. Ragers have that sort of problem. It's often a small spot, only found by chance. If an enemy knows where that spot is, they can cause you so much pain that you stop raging. Then you could be killed by one weakling instead of five hundred soldiers. We need to find that spot in you that hurts more than any other when it's injured. And then you need to guard it with your life."

"Oh…" Gregor said. What was he supposed to say? "Great, let's give me a few jabs and see when I start screaming"? No.

"We won't look for it now. We can stumble on it in training. But once you think you've found it, tell me. And only me. Because you can think you can tell someone and they won't use it, but then…" He stroked one of the scars marking his eye.

"Solovet knew," Gregor realized. That was his old scar, the one Solovet had given him. Gregor recalled when he had swiped Ripred in his eye during their most recent fight. What pain must it have caused him to get not only one scar from Solovet, but to give himself another scar right on top of it? "Solovet knew your spot."

"She found out," Ripred said softly. "And she wanted a favor from me. Make sure it doesn't happen to you."

And on that ominous note, he turned around and flagged down Adrian.

**I realize that this isn't as impressive as I may have lead you to believe. But bear with me. In the meantime, we'll be ignoring this and focusing on Regalia. Reviews and guesses are welcome, because next post, the first messenger flier arrives with a fair amount of news...**


	18. iw the First Report Arrives

**Wow, I updated on 9:09, September 9, 2009. Nice.**

**Hehe, what can I say, I love you guys. ^^ Here's to coyearth, Darkrider013, Kizanna the Underlander, Sparky123, stephanie, and LadyCorkboard for their generous reviews! And I'm glad this went over well, at least...**

**Alright, I've been itching to do this, so I will make an announcement: now taking all bets on the ally of the Prophecy of Trap! I mean to say, on my profile there is a poll. I have listed every creature in the Underland that I know of (plus squirrels and zombies- what's wrong with those?), so please feel free to visit the poll and pick one of them as the ally. Be as random as you want, or as logical, but the first one is much more fun and entertaining for me!**

**Chapter Eighteen: in Which the First Report Arrives**

"Have you ever been in battle with a rider?" was the greeting Ripred gave Adrian when she landed.

"I do not think I have been in a battle at all," Adrian muttered.

"Great. The rager here has had some practice, but seeing as it's been a long time, we're going to start from the beginning."

Gregor frowned. He had done battle against ants, snakes, rats, and the Bane (more than once!) and Ripred considered that practice? Even though he had mostly flown on Ares's back while battling rats, he thought he could remember how to in a hurry.

At first, Ripred made Adrian fly in circles with Gregor on her back for a while. Gregor could hardly see anything because the top of the jungle was shrouded with vines that blocked some of the light, but he had enough sense to use his echolocation and duck when Adrian got too close to the roof of the cavern. Apparently, she was better at coasting currents than actually flapping her wings- or at least, she preferred it- and she had done this all her life without a rider.

The new experiences were mutual. Gregor was used to riding Ares, a very large bat, for all his time in the Underland, but Adrian could only be half of Ares's size with her wingspan and the space on her back. Also, the other fliers seemed to be careful so that their riders were comfortable. Adrian sometimes forgot that Gregor was present and tilted, made pinpoint turns, and once tried to do a loop. Gregor had to grab onto her fur, and though she suppressed a sort of growl each time, she soon leveled out.

After some practice, Adrian began to develop the poise that most bats had with a rider. It was then that Ripred sent Howard and Nike up with orders to re-teach them some basic moves. Gregor could remember them and thought he did well, but Howard occasionally called out to him with a note about elbows or certain strikes. It was hard to hear instructions with wind screaming past one's ears, so Gregor ignored it.

Adrian had a harder time. Nike tried very hard to keep a gentle tone when she was teaching Adrian, but they could hardly hear each other, and Adrian was having trouble following such directions as "arc your wings" and "a little lower and level, so Gregor can swing." Finally, Nike got frustrated and yelled "Icarus maneuver!"

Adrian paused, then swerved up gently, angled her wings, and did a perfect corkscrew turn to touch down in front of Ripred. Nike imitated her, and Howard and Gregor got off to stretch.

"What was _that?_" Ripred marched forward and barked to Adrian. "Who taught you how to fly? You can't even follow instructions like 'flatten your wings'! And do you want Gregor to get a concussion? At least fly a little lower, maybe then you can _hear-_"

"Adrian," Nike said, "what is the Trojan Tactic?"

"Six fliers surround one protected subject in the air," Adrian said in a quiet rush. She wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. "The fliers protect the top, bottom, sides, front, and back, and the flier in the middle or front gives the directions to the ground."

"And when do we use a ploy of Pisces?"

"It is a fishing maneuver. We feign leaving and move our claws out of the view of the fish, and then dive in once we have circle and confused the fish about where we are going."

"How is the Persephone plan used?" Howard asked this question instead of Nike.

"The enemy is lured into position using something of great value as bait. Once they arrive, we strike."

Nike and Howard looked at each other, and then they both looked at Ripred, who grumbled something unintelligible.

"Blood-drinker," Howard said cautiously, "if you have spent your life in the jungle with a band of gnawers, why do you know so much of the fliers' battle tactics?"

"Perhaps if you had let me answer when Ripred asked me who taught me to fly…" Adrian said. Ripred glared at her, and Gregor suppressed a grin.

"Just explain," Ripred growled.

"When I was a few months old, Darius and his mother Hestia ran into the gnawers I lived with. They stayed, and I learned to fly from Darius. His father used to fly for Regalia, so he taught me every aspect of their military that he could recall his father telling him."

"And the gnawers agreed with this?" Howard asked.

"They definitely agreed. They think Darius's and Hestia's loyalty lie with Regalia, but also with me, being a flier like him- uh, them. So the gnawers let Darius tell me tell me all he knows, if only for me to know how to save or end…this."

Gregor knew she meant something other than "this", but because she had dropped it, he decided to let it go.

"I think she is well beyond the level we think," Nike told Ripred. "The Icarus Maneuver she performed was flawless, just as the Regalian military expects from fliers. And her knowledge of other tactics, even those outside of the battlefield-"

"What do you want me to do?" Ripred growled.

"Try something other than basic flight patterns. She said she has never been in a battle. Prepare her for one," Nike suggested. Adrian watched with quiet contentedness, as if grateful not to be doing this anymore.

"Fine," Ripred groaned. "But you monitor them. I need to check up on Lizzie soon. Now, blood-drinker," He turned to Adrian and Gregor. "When you get up in the air, Gregor here is going to get on his knees, and you're going to stay level for him. But when he's ready, he's going to signal to you. Your wings will be close to your sides, but when he says so- BAM! Shoot out your wings as far as they'll go, and keep them stiff. You'll go a little slower, but your size will work. And I think the blood has given you a lot of muscle power. You could break necks with those wings."

Ripred excused himself to visit Lizzie, and as he departed, Gregor found himself staring at Adrian. "_You could break necks with those wings._" Why did that sound so familiar? And then it hit him, with about a thousand other memories. Battles with rats, mainly; being on Ares's back and feeling his powerful muscles pull and flex as he worked his wings. Adrian had elongated wings, like Ares, and though she was small for all the fliers Gregor had seen, she did look very strong. And black, if she was standing directly in front of him. She looked so remarkably like Ares now, standing silently with a world-weary look in her eye, waiting for orders.

"Why do you stare, Gregor?" She asked as Nike signaled for them to take off and practice.

"Nothing, really," Gregor said. He wasn't sure if it was a good topic to discuss, but it came out before he could disregard it. "But you know what Ripred told you, about breaking necks with your wings? He told that to Ares, too."

Adrian climbed further towards the ceiling and didn't reply. Gregor coughed a bit to cover up the silence. He was remembering how to talk in the air, and there was only one thing he could think of that he needed to bring up with Adrian.

"Gregor? I...I wanted to say that I did not mean what I said, as we were flying to Regalia."

So, she said it. This helped.

"About the whole thing with...your dad?" Gregor choked over Ares's name.

"Yes. I never meant to imply that it was your fault he died. I could not save him any more than you could." Adrian paused, and then shook her head. "And that came out wrong as well."

"That's fine," Gregor said with the lightest of chuckles. "But how did you watch him anyways?"

"Darius and I went to go find him. Needless to say, it did not go anywhere near planned."

"What did you plan? I mean, you never met him..." Gregor winced inwardly. Not the best thing to say.

"Indeed I have not," Adrian said simply. "But...that is part of why I came to get you in the Overland. Not because of the prophecy, but because you knew him. I wanted to learn about my father, and you were my most likely bet."

"I guess I am." Gregor rubbed the back of his neck. He looked up to see Howard signaling furiously at him to copy a move he had just performed. Adrian had been paying attention to Nike at least, and repeated it. They kept silent until Howard and Nike had gone into another demonstration.

"I don't know what to tell you," Gregor said quietly. And it was true; Adrian was hardly with anyone on the ground, and Gregor could hardly think of what to say when he was alone with her. "But I guess if there's one thing you have to know...I think Ares would really have wanted to meet you."

Adrian performed so well for the rest of the day that Ripred called it off early. And when they landed, Gregor could have sworn he caught her smiling.

By dinner, Lizzie had examined the clues- for lack of a better word- on the wall and was feeling more confident about it. "I think the first stanza has to do with us leaving," She said over her piece of bread and sips of water. Her palms were shining with sweat, but it wasn't nervousness; it was the heat. "Maybe it means I couldn't run away when everyone from the Underland came to get us. I don't know what that has to do with the cipher, but it'll all make sense in time, right, Ripred?"

"Of course," Ripred said and pulled her a bit closer to him. He had had to carry her from the cipher to the sort of picnic outside the stone hut that used to belong to Sandwich. He could probably force her to sleep next to him, if only to make sure she rested.

"And I think everyone knows that the 'wheels of fate' are the wheels on the cipher. But maybe the wheel I'm supposed to be turning is the one with the 'N', 'S', 'E', and 'W'. It looks sort of like a compass, and compasses- no, wait, they always point in one direction, north. Maybe it stays still. Maybe it's the wheel with the alphabet that I'm supposed to move. I may actually be spelling something, the name of a child of night, right?"

"You know…that may be it," Ripred said. "I think that's part of it, Lizzie! So what's a child of night?"

"I…I-I don't know." Lizzie's face fell. "It'd have to be three letters, right? 'Turn left then right, then tour the Underland'? That's enough turning for three letters…but if I'm touring the Underland, wouldn't I use the wheel with the animals because they're all over the Underland?"

She fell asleep talking about this, and it was the first thing on her mind when she woke up. Every possible discovery was thwarted by another possibility, and her logic drove everyone she talked to insane. After two days of Lizzie's constant chirping, Gregor began to wish she had a code team to work with again. Most everyone, even Boots, was avoiding Lizzie and her rambles. Except Ripred; it was a wonder he could listen and not pull out his whiskers. But he seemed to understand _and_ appreciate everything Lizzie considered, and spent a lot of his days helping her.

Training duties had been passed to Howard and Nike, who mainly worked with Gregor and Adrian in the air. Luxa refused to ride on Adrian, so she spent most of her time in combat with Flyfur and Sixclaw while Lapblood gave pointers. Boots, Hazard, and Temp would watch everyone and sometimes try to imitate the fights, but they always got tired and went to go play games.

Most everyone could do nothing but sweat, train, and worry about what was going on outside. It was on everyone's mind, when they spoke in their sleep, and when they gave Lizzie a worried glance when she was confused, and when Howard once suggested that they needed to find water before they remembered who could be out there. This was when they looked to Adrian, and recalled one of the reasons why they tolerated her.

But in a deranged way, the passing three days were almost comfortable to Gregor. His friends were all there, and his rager senses were like a fine-turned machine. But food and water were running out and some creatures (particularly the rats) were being annoyed to the point of violence, when out of nowhere, company came.

Boots saw it first, and pointed to the roof of a cavern some distance away where the jungle ended. "Temp! Hazard! Look what I see!"

"Another game?" Hazard grinned, but when he followed Boots's finger, his eyebrows shot up. "Luxa?" He called.

"Yes?" Luxa grunted. She was currently on top of a very disgruntled Sixclaw, as a demonstration to all those in training.

"We have a guest, I think." Hazard's words echoed across the clearing, and everyone stopped to follow Boots's finger to the gray-colored flier, who grew larger as he came closer to the site. By the time the flier had had landed, he was panting for breath. Not from the humid climate of the jungle, but from the weight of the packs he was wearing. After a minute, he composed himself.

"Greetings," He said. "I am Lysander. I bring news."

"Of Regalia?" Luxa disengaged from the fight to ask. Howard was already at Lysander's side, taking off his many loads. The first one was a huge wineskin of water, which he immediately gave to Hazard (who suffered the most from dehydration, seeing as he had been thirsty enough before they came to the jungle).

"Yes, and it is grave news," Lysander said. "Yet the Regalians we were able to contact insisted we bring you these supplies. They believe your survival is endangered here now that they know the blood-drinker and the gnawers have made a home here. They think-"

"Enough of our lives. What of theirs?" Luxa demanded. The entire group had assembled around Lysander by now, rooting through his supplies and storing them. Some just sat, listening. Luxa, Gregor, and Adrian were watching him as if his words were life itself.

"The spinners have completely allied with the gnawers. Our clothes, bandages, and parts of armor that we have been able to keep are fast disappearing. And the spinners that are not protecting the net have overrun the crawlers' lands. Both sides have substantial losses, but the crawlers are losing quickly. They rely too much on the ally and the princess to rescue them."

"The princess be here, be she," Temp said, toting Boots over for Lysander to see. "How save the crawlers from here, save she?"

"They expect her to rally the ally to rescue the crawlers." Lysander sounded tired. "The humans and fliers expect the same. The gnawers are watching, but have not yet attacked the fliers' lands, partly because they are unattainable except to the best climbers. Queen Athena has been gathering supplies and sending them to Regalia, but all attempts have been thwarted by gnawers during the journey, or by spinners at the net."

"Have you tried the tunnels that the diggers made?" Gregor asked. "We used one to escape."

"Ah, the diggers," Lysander sighed. "It seems that they have allied fully with the gnawers. All tunnels they know of have been either filled up, or the entrances have been blocked. It seems the diggers are trying to reclaim the land, and they have collapsed many of our buildings by destroying the foundations."

"What of the people?" Luxa asked gravely.

"From what we have been told, most are starving as the gnawers wish. Food has been preserved most carefully in twelve key buildings around the city, and people visit those buildings every few days, whenever they can manage the trip. Of those buildings, three have been destroyed by diggers and one was taken over by gnawers.

"Every human except those of the royal family or the council have been forced into twelve-hour shifts of farming. The diggers soften the soil so that the grains will grow faster, and the fliers are either assigned to watch the livestock or are selected to deliver goods to packs of gnawers around the Underland. Those 'messenger fliers' are chosen purely on good behavior and endurance, and are escorted by two gnawers. We have gotten information from them, and in some cases, we have killed their escorts and brought them to the fliers' lands. From our latest discussions, we fear fliers will not be allowed to transport goods anymore, and will be doomed to labor on the ground for the rest of their lives."

"What is known about the royal family and the council?" Luxa asked. She had her eyes squeezed shut, as if these words were killing her. Gregor slipped his hand into hers, and she squeezed like she had squeezed when she saw Ares with the plague.

"We only got a very vague answer, from one half-delirious flier," Lysander said. "He saw them taken into custody as they were forced out of the diggers' tunnels, and rumors state that they are in the palace dungeons, being withheld food and interrogated by gnawers until they speak of any plans that you or the Regalians have for rebellion. The same treatment is given to anyone caught in the streets or the food houses after curfew. No one has told anything, so the rations given to all humans and fliers are lessening. The death toll is rising steadily, as many are starving, exhausted, or murdered for breaking the laws set by the gnawers."

Everyone was silent, even those who had been trying not to listen. The visions painted by Lysander's words lay imprinted in their minds' eyes, and Gregor felt a quiet anger towards the gnawers who were causing all this misery. He even found himself thinking bad thoughts about Adrian, even though she hadn't done anything…personally. Everyone said she sided with the rats. Maybe she'd approved of this.

"This is ridiculous," Ripred said. He was carrying Lizzie on his back, her face buried into his fur. "They know we're here, at the Seek. They must have guessed that Luxa is here, and perhaps Howard, if they have taken over the Fount."

"They have." Lysander frowned. "There is no net, so gnawers and spinners patrol the streets in triplicate. The humans, fliers, and nibblers there experience similar treatment, and the family of York has been moved to Regalia for interrogation."

Howard moaned. Nike wrapped her wings around him, and he trembled soundlessly.

"Thank you, Lysander." Ripred scowled. "But they must want to send a blow to_ us_, not the humans in general. They want to trap them, not kill them. It's us they're worried about, so why don't they attack _us?_"

"They _have_," Luxa said. Tears were pricking at the corners of her eyes, and Gregor felt numb because she was squeezing the life out of his hand. "They are attacking my people, since they cannot reach me. And it is sickening." She spat the last word.

"Wrong," Adrian muttered. She was three meters away, but Luxa heard and spun around. Her glare chilled the jungle.

"What?"

"As Ripred said, the gnawers know you are here," Adrian said quietly. "They will hurt you. But they must leave you, for the time being, no matter how much information or how dangerous you are."

"Why do you say that, blood-drinker?" Luxa snapped.

"If something should happen to you, what would happen to the Overlanders?" Adrian reasoned. "Gregor would not fight. His sisters would not find the ally, which everyone needs. And then the gnawers would not be able to keep revenge away."

As Adrian's words registered, the mood seemed to brighten, if only a little. Then Luxa spoke to Lysander. "Perhaps, then, if the blood-drinker is being honest, we can find a way to strengthen Regalia. Give them hope before I return with help."

"Actually," Lysander's ears perked up in a sort of happy gesture, "your bond, Aurora- she remains with our squadron and helps recover news from messenger fliers- had an idea that she asked me to pass onto you. She believes she knows of a weak spot in the net surrounding Regalia's walls that the messenger fliers use to leave the city. With your permission and some of Queen Athena's fliers, we wish to use that spot to deliver supplies and plan the humans' uprising from the inside."

"Tell my mother to agree to this," Nike said before Luxa could respond. "Tell her I have much confidence in Aurora."

"I agree with Nike," Luxa said with half a smile. Her tears had evaporated. "Have Aurora send back details of her plan as soon as you can. From there, I can tell her what to tell my people."

"As you wish, Queen Luxa." Lysander ruffled his wings. "Take the supplies, and then I will return to my squadron." Howard, who was trying his best to be brave for his family in captivity, came forward to take the remaining packs. Luxa turned and offered Gregor a genuine smile, which he returned. At least there was hope. The Regalians could win.

"Ahem," Adrian coughed. When they turned around, her eyes were on Luxa, almost pleadingly. "Queen Luxa…I do not know how to start this. I gave you information, and it was rather important. And I was hoping that because of that, I could ask for repayment…?" Luxa said nothing. Adrian spoke in a rush. "Canmymothercomehereplease?"

Luxa blinked. "Blood-drinker-"

"Please, Queen Luxa? I want to see Aurora, even apologize-"

"Blood-drinker," Luxa shook her head, "I just…cannot trust you. I want Lysander to come back. You two must stay apart, if not for her safety then because you both have duties-"

"Then please, tell Lysander to tell my mother that I miss her, and I want to see her again," Adrian pleaded. "If this is the only chance I have to speak with her, I will take it."

Luxa paused. "Alright," She concluded. Adrian's face lit up, her ears lifted, and she nodded in gratification as Luxa walked over to Lysander, about to take off. Gregor followed, partially to listen and partially to thank Lysander for the news.

But what Luxa told the bat was somewhat different: "Lysander, I thank you for your news and services. But I have one more favor to ask. Do not mention the blood-drinker being here, especially not to Aurora. Say she was missing. Lie."

Lysander nodded, and as he departed, Gregor wondered how this was going to end.

**Reviews are appreciated, reactions more so, and for you to answer that little poll of mine...well, any of this would bring on another chapter, the title of which being "in Which the Walls Come Tumbling Down". You may see why I'd appreciate as many votes on the poll as possible before certain factors require me to close it. Where was I? Oh, yes, any feedback is loved!**


	19. iw the Walls Come Tumbling Down

**Alright, guys, I feel I must make something clear. After seeing coyearth, Darkrider013, Lady Corkboard, and stephanie's reviews, I feel that I've made Luxa sort of a jerk. But to be honest, I think it had to be done. Certainly I love Luxa and her awesomeness, but c'mon, that girl can really hold a grudge. Think of her and the rats- after Henry and her parents and her kingdom, how much must it have taken for her to so much as bond with Ripred? I'm sorry if I've perhaps exaggerated what she can do when invidious (vocab word- hateful or spiteful), but I'm going somewhere with this. ...I hope. Let's find out, shall we?**

**Chapter Nineteen: in Which the Walls Come Tumbling Down**

"I've got it!"

The triumphant cry rang through the entire clearing, and echoed off the stone ceiling. Adrian, Gregor, Nike, and Howard landed on the ground, the last people to reach Lizzie, who examined their hopeful faces.

"You did it? You understand it?" Ripred said. "I told you, Lizzie, I knew you could do it!"

"Well…I only got half of it," Lizzie said. Her face fell, and the people gathered around the stone cipher where she sat, trying not to look disappointed.

"Half is better than nothing," Ripred said firmly. "Let's hear it."

"Okay, so you know on the wall where it says, 'the wheels of fate turn left then right, then tour the Underland'?" Lizzie pointed to the wall behind her. "And then it says I'll name a child of night. I had a guess- I thought it'd be three letters, for the three turns- and put it in. And…" She pointed to the middle circle, which had the alphabet printed on it in large letters, and then to the center square that didn't move. "There's that triangle above the word 'Regalia'. So, turn the alphabet wheel until the triangle hits 'b', then turn it right until the circle's gone fully around and stops on 'a', then spin the circle right, past the 'a' and 'b' once until it's gone all the way around and stops on 't'. Then there was some clicking and some creaking beneath me, and now this ring on the outside moves, because it didn't before, so…"

"So you entered 'bat' as the creature of the night," Ripred said. "See, Lizzie? It's not hard at all." And he lifted her off the stone cipher, and spun her around in a circle. Soon everyone was offering their congratulations.

"How did you figure it out, Lizzie?" Hazard asked.

"I saw Adrian leave us last night when everyone was sleeping," Lizzie explained with a smile on her face. The attention had made her feel better, and maybe even boosted her confidence. "When she came back, she told me not to worry because she just liked to fly when everyone else was asleep. So today I thought of her."

Adrian's face felt hot under her fur. Now the older humans, Ripred, and Lapblood were staring at her. Lapblood's pups, Boots, Hazard, and Temp, were looking at the cipher, trying to see Lizzie's logic. But it wasn't their opinions that Adrian was worried about.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Adrian," Lizzie said. "Was it a secret?"

"Not really. It should not matter," Adrian mumbled.

"Do you think you can get the rest of this cipher figured out, Lizzie?" Gregor turned the attention back to the code-breaker. "I bet you want to get out of the jungle."

"I do. We're all sweating like crazy. But I still need to figure out who 'she who lies' is." Lizzie frowned. "Do you know, Ripred?"

"Let's see if we can find out," Ripred said. "Everyone, back to business. We'll have dinner in a little while."

Lapblood, her pups, Luxa, and Temp (carrying Boots and Hazard) walked off. They were practicing hand-to-hand combat still, but now Boots and Hazard were running out of ideas for games and contented themselves with mimicking the moves and practicing on Temp.

Nike and Howard lifted into the air, and Adrian and Gregor were soon to follow. They were training together as if they were actual bonds, which Adrian thought was a wild fantasy. Gregor was kind enough to her, but they never said much. On the ground, he was always with Luxa, who gave Adrian vibes that practically screamed "unwelcome". And in the air, they could rarely find a reason to talk besides training. After their fragmented talk about Ares, Adrian couldn't think of a way to let the rager know that she may actually like him despite his species. After all, Gregor had been considerate enough to distract everyone from the fact that Adrian had been away while everyone was asleep.

"Where did you go last night?" Gregor asked as they ascended. Nike and Howard were doing some intricate fly-and-fight movements that they would have to imitate in a moment.

"I coasted around for a while. I could not sleep," Adrian said. She liked to consider it part of the truth. She _had_ been restless, wondering about what Aurora would tell Lysander to tell her, if she responded to Adrian's message at all. So Adrian went out for a flight.

Darius had found her flying in loops, and told her to report to Locklunge privately. The flier had seemed alright, but very quiet. Adrian tried to ask him what was wrong- was someone hurt? had someone lost battle?- but he said he was fine. She didn't believe him. His eyes were too sad.

Locklunge had been waiting for her, a little way away from the group of gnawers that stayed in the jungle, planning. Instantaneously, he fired questions at her. Where had she been? Was the group treating her well? Had she persuaded them that the gnawers were the better side? Had they swayed her to the humans' cause? Had she heard any plans? Was she hungry? He sounded both worried and angry, like he thought she was hiding something and thought she could be in danger from it.

With Darius at her side, Adrian had answered coolly that she was fine, that she and everyone else were still on the same sides they had been on before. But she did not mention anything about Aurora or her plans for rebellion. It was only that the gnawers would blame Aurora as a leader if Adrian told of the plans now, and she didn't know how to get her mother out of that sort of trouble. Also, Luxa had given Lysander the message to Aurora, a favor that Adrian had to ask because the messenger flier did not look like he would listen to a blood-drinker, and Aurora may listen to Luxa more than Adrian. So by not telling about the possible rebellion, Adrian considered herself repaying a debt to Luxa.

Locklunge had seemed disappointed; negotiations with the cutters had not gone as planned, and if Lizzie had not cracked the cipher and no one had any plan other than to wait, there would be no progress. And his plan certainly called for progress. He told Adrian that he was going to send two gnawers to lurk in the jungle and oversee the group's activity, and that they would act as intermediaries for Adrian and Locklunge. Obviously, Adrian couldn't keep finding excuses to sneak away with them whenever the group was occupied. Though the gnawers would be watching in shifts for all hours, Adrian still needed to explain what was happening and add details for them to report. Locklunge arranged this plan by himself, and looked a lot calmer- more in control- when he sent Darius to escort Adrian back to the Seek.

The flight back had been silent for a minute, until Adrian broke her will and confessed everything to Darius: Lysander's arrival, the weak point in the net, Luxa indirectly relaying her message to Aurora. Darius listened with a smile on his face, and let Adrian vent about her debt to Luxa now repaid; her guilt about hiding things from Locklunge, who depended on her so much and who she respected; her worries about Aurora and what she would say back.

Finally, when they had landed in the jungle within sight of the clearing, Darius had spoken: "I think you did the right thing, to keep the plans secret. If everything else you said to Locklunge was true, he will assume you truly did not know. I will vouch for you then." He wrapped his wings around her. "And do not worry about Aurora. She must surely love you, and will want to know you miss her." He squeezed her once, then let go and smiled at her. "I will visit if I can. Tell me how it worked out, which it will."

When he had flown away, Adrian had turned around and stumbled into the clearing. After a short exchange with Lizzie (she didn't lie- she _did_ prefer the time when everyone else was asleep), she fell to the ground and drifted to sleep. In her dream, no matter what happened, a warm pair of wings was always around her.

But now she was flying drunkenly from lack of sleep and blood, and Nike was fast losing patience.

"She says you need to keep your wings straight," Gregor explained in her ear. Adrian obeyed, and revved up to try the Zeus maneuver again. As she zigged and zagged like a lightning bolt, she had the misfortune of bumping and jolting so hard that Gregor could hardly handle his sword. Frustrated, Howard and Nike signaled for them to land.

"I know we have been practicing for a long time today. You are tired," Howard said on the ground. "But blood-drinker, you must learn to control yourself. You will be exhausted in battle, yet you must perform these moves perfectly or risk your life and Gregor's."

"Yes, I know, Howard," Adrian mumbled. "It is just that the longer I go without feeding, the more-"

"Enough." Howard raised his hands. Darius had told her that this expression meant "I surrender", and if he was here, he would probably ask if Howard was surrendering himself to be Adrian's meal. He'd probably also mention that at least in battle, there would be a feast of blood for Adrian, so she'd probably never get tired. Adrian smiled to herself, but then stopped. Darius wasn't here, she reminded herself. Back to Howard.

"I am going to go prepare dinner," He said. "Use this time to rest or hunt, and we will start again tomorrow." He and Nike left.

"So which will you do?" Gregor asked.

"I am sorry?" Adrian said and shook her head.

"You're pretty off today," He noted. "Why couldn't you sleep?"

"I was…thinking about Aurora. I want to know what she will say to me, or if she will reply at all. Perhaps she does want not to know a daughter who dislocated her wing because she was thirsty." Adrian sighed. She had said this to Darius, too.

Gregor fidgeted with his sword. That sword had begun to come everywhere with him, as if it was safety itself. "What would you do if she didn't respond?"

"I suppose I would not be surprised."

"Would you be surprised if she didn't get the message?"

"Well…I think I would be, yes." Adrian squinted at Gregor. "Why?"

"No reason. Just wondering. I don't know what she would say back to you, though. I didn't know her very well."

"No, really, why did you think she would not get the message? Is it Lysander? I thought he was a flier to obey the Queen, but maybe…"

"Gregor, dinner is ready," Luxa came forward, ignoring Adrian completely. "Are you coming? Howard and Lapblood have cleared the stone house out so we may eat in there." She took Gregor's arm and led him to the stone house.

Boots ran past Adrian to grab Lizzie, by herself at the stone cipher. All the other humans, gnawers, and fliers were inside but for Adrian, Luxa, and Gregor. And Adrian had no eyes but for the two humans. "I am currently asking Gregor why he thought Aurora would not get my message." Adrian said to Luxa in such a sharp tone that she and Gregor both stopped outside the door of the hut.

Luxa turned to Gregor, eyebrow raised. "He thinks so?"

"It slipped out," Gregor said apologetically.

"It sounded casual to me," Adrian objected. "What would 'slip out' unless it was a secret- oh…" Her eyes widened. "Aurora will not get my message? But…why not?"

The look exchanged between Luxa and Gregor was the only cue Adrian needed.

"_You,_" She growled to Luxa. "You did not tell Lysander to deliver my message to Aurora?"

"You two should not be in contact." Luxa folded her arms. "It will distract you both, and if your thirst is as uncontrollable as it was before-"

"Stop!" Adrian's vision became blurry. She had only cried once, for Ares, and she did not want to do it again in front of Luxa. "Why do you deny me a mother? I was days old when I bit her! I did not even know I wanted blood, and I did not know how much strength I had or what teeth I had to-"

"You bit her when you were just born, also! And what about this?" Luxa thrust a hand to a scar that ran down the side of her face. "You gave this to me as I saved Aurora's life, and then you managed to squirm away from Cevian's care, and even now you hide things from us! What about the flier who met you on the rooftops of Regalia as we were evacuating? And your hunting trips, what of those? Blood-drinker, what have you ever done to have me trust you?"

"I told you that the gnawers could not kill you."

"That was logic. We all could have thought of that."

"I went through the tunnels with you."

"You had no other option."

"I have let you ride me, and you have lived to tell of it!"

"I would not ride you unless we were in the middle of a-"

"You promised! You promised that if Aurora could not come here, you would at least send a message to her from me!"

"_I lied._"

Luxa's proclamation was heard by everyone in the Seek. Everyone dining in the stone house stopped to watch. Lizzie, who had paused her work to see what was going on, began to twist the stone circles with new resolve, and Boots peered over to watch. Adrian just looked at Luxa incredulously, with a very unwelcome emotion swallowing her whole.

"I lied," Luxa hissed, "because I cannot let you near Aurora, blood-drinker. You are a murderer, and so help me, if I have to send her to the Uncharted Lands to keep her away from you, I will. I have lost too many of the people I love to even _consider_ losing Aurora to-"

Lizzie looked up from her notepad to the cipher, and then up to the group. "I did it," She said quietly. Then, in a yell: "Guys! Guys, come here, I figured out the cipher! It's-"

There was a sharp scratching sound, like someone was cracking their knuckles in a place that echoed. Behind Lizzie, a jagged line appeared in the center clay tablet that served as a wall, splitting the words in half. More cracks appeared, the sounds increased to deafening, and a rumble began that shook Adrian's vision and reverberated through her entire body. Bits and chips of stone began to crumble off of the clay walls that separated them from the jungle. A cloud of gray dust billowed out from the place where the clay met the ground, swallowing the cipher with Lizzie and Boots still on it.

"Lizzie!" Ripred yelled and tried to force himself out of the house and towards the frozen ten-year-old. She made no sound, nor could she be seen. The dust crept closer to the group. "Lizzie, get away from there, it's-"

"Boots!" Gregor shouted at the same time. "Boots, get over-"

The stone wall made a groaning sound- almost metallic- and then, with a thunderous roar, the cracks split the wall into boulders, which flew apart in a huge "bang" of fire and gravel. Rocks of all sizes hurtled into the jungle and tumbled towards the ground like a rocky wave. Dust and fire obscured everyone's vision, but the ocean of clay landing with a crash on the stone cipher was unmistakable. No one had time or air to scream.

Adrian found herself curled into a ball on the ground, with Gregor and Luxa behind her, blown against the stone house by the rocks. As the dust cleared, most everyone got out from their protective positions and ran to the stone cipher, moving aside boulders and charred remains of what was left of the Seek's fine clay walls.

After a minute of panicked searching, Ripred threw aside a huge boulder and howled: "They're gone!"

**END OF PART TWO**

**Well...I _suppose_ I could have added one more chapter and made that the end of part two. Ah well. If you have the time, please vote for your guess as to who the ally is. And please review!**


	20. iw the Queen Lied

**Hmm, six reviews...good time for an update, no? Considering that I only read my reviews after I do the homework that makes me so grouchy, I must extend my deepest thanks to coyearth, Darkrider013, Lady Corkboard, stephanie, Sparky123, and Kizanna the Underlander. Even after whatever I've faced that day, you guys never fail to make me smile.**

**PART THREE: LIBERATION**

**Chapter Twenty: in Which the Queen Lied**

"How can they be _gone_?" Gregor screamed. Tears stung his eyes, either from the dust and smoke, or from the loss of his sisters. Probably both. "No, they can't be gone, they have to be here, they have to be alive…" He began to push rocks around the stone cipher, searching for any sign of Lizzie and Boots. Not knowing if they lived...this was the worst possible outcome. He didn't want to think knowing they were dead would be better. He didn't want to think that they were dead. But no body, no clothes, no hair between any rocks…no.

"How did this happen?" Howard said, standing up and looking at the level pile of rubble that had been the clay wall. He took long, careful strides until he was where the wall had stood, then leaned down, ran his finger against the dust, and examined it.

"Ripred!" He called the rat, who came bounding over. "It is gunpowder. Sandwich filled the entire wall with gunpowder. We have not even _had_ gunpowder since this structure was built."

"And I bet it was sparked when Lizzie got the cipher right," Ripred growled and took another sniff at the black dust.

"'The walls come tumbling down'," Nike quoted the clues written on the walls. "Sandwich loved this sort of wordplay. He actually designed the walls to tumble down when the right words were entered into the nearby cipher."

"And all but two were here to see it." Ripred glared and kicked a slab of concrete with his toe. Boots probably wasn't so big a loss to him, but Lizzie, on the other hand… "It'd be nice if we knew exactly where those two disappeared to."

"Shut up, Ripred!" Gregor barked. "They're here, they have to be!" He kept blindly clawing at the slabs of stone, shoving them away. He prayed: "Let me find them. A shoe, a hand, a bone, anything!" Luxa came over and tried to pull him away by his shoulders, but he shrugged her off and chanted his sisters' names to himself in his head. He kept digging. Finally, Sixclaw came over, used his teeth to pick up Gregor by the shirt, and carried him- dangling by his neck- to Ripred. The lack of air awokened Gregor to the concern on everyone's faces.

"'Ahk fome fenfe inoo 'im," Sixclaw said with his mouth full of Gregor's shirt, and set him down to the ground, shaking.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Ripred snapped, and looked down at Gregor, who was sitting and staring into the rocks numbly. Luxa sat with him and rubbed her hand across his.

"I should be talking some sense into you," Ripred sighed, "but this doesn't make any sense. The dust kept us from seeing them actually get buried, but no human could outrun that."

"No human, certainly." Adrian came hobbling over to the assembly. "I think you should see this."

She led them to the edge of the clearing, where the wreckage thinned but for some big boulders. She stopped and nodded down to a print in the soil. Gregor almost fought to focus his eyes, and when he did, the print didn't register for another minute.

"A paw print," He said finally.

"A paw print of a gnawer," Lapblood said and pressed her foot into the soil next to it so that she made a similar impression. "But what gnawer?"

"You know, don't you, blood-drinker?" Hazard asked. He looked very small and alone, with only Temp next to him.

"I think I do," Adrian nodded. "Two gnawers were hidden in the jungle to watch me, and I was to report to them. They must have been there, where even I could not see them. And-"

"When they saw a chance to take the code-breaker and the princess, they took that chance." Ripred nodded solemnly.

"Where take the princess, take they?" Temp asked. He was making gentle clicking noises that Gregor had associated earlier with some sort of cockroach crying.

"Wherever the ally is," Adrian said. "The code-breaker will tell them who it is. And the princess will rally its loyalty."

"But they will not obey," Luxa said firmly. "What could happen otherwise?"

"They are fond of your lives. Should they displease the gnawers, there is nothing to prevent the gnawers from taking your lives as punishment now. Everyone but Gregor and I are extendable to them," Adrian said quietly.

"So we'll follow," Ripred said. "We'll go to the ally, steal back Lizzie and Boots, and get them to help us battle the gnawers."

"That all depends," Howard said. "Who is the ally?"

Everyone looked over to the stone cipher, sitting there half-covered in rubble. Then they clamored- even Gregor, but only because Luxa was pulling him- to peer over the Seek. The rats brushed off the rubble. At the center of the circle, the word "Regalia" stood proudly, with the triangle and its tip pointed away from the word. In the layer closest to the center, the triangle- arrow, more like- pointed between the "E" and "S". The arrow went on to point to the "N" in the layer with the alphabet. And beyond that, on the outermost layer with the stick figure drawings of animals, the arrow pointed to a shape like an oval. It had short lines on its long side, one end had small triangles protruding out of it like fangs, and the other end had an elongated, whip-like tail that ended in a deadly triangle point.

"Stingers," Hazard said. "The stingers are our allies."

Gregor stared at the rudimentary drawing of the scorpion. The small ones had scared the living daylights out of Lizzie back home, but Boots had seen giant ones going out of their way to kill them and had still insisted to hold the babies and sing them to sleep. Gregor could do nothing but replay the memory in a trance. Rats had his sisters. But there was a numbness that had rippled through his body as the others were talking, like the ice that had encased his heart in the Prophecy of Bane. If the numbness hadn't set in, he would have become a bawling mess on the ground right then.

"Oh, the stingers." Luxa looked almost happy. "We discussed peace with them when we found them in Hades Hall. They will fight for us. They would do anything for Boots, at least."

"That being the problem," Ripred said. "They would do anything for Boots, who would do anything to save us."

"Are we sure it is the stingers?" Howard asked. "Perhaps there is more to the cipher than Lizzie could tell us."

To test, Flyfur pushed on the outermost layer of the cipher, with the animal drawings. A clanking sound reverberated under the surface of the stone, and as she turned the outside, the layer with "N", "S", "E", and "W" moved with it.

"It is a compass," Lapblood said. "But it does not work on magnets. If you turn the wheel so that a certain creature is lined up with the arrow, the four letters turn to tell you what direction the creature is from Regalia. The alphabet was only to make it work right."

"The stingers _are_ southeast of Regalia, if only a little," Luxa said. "Like the cipher said."

"The key word, this may be, the key word." Temp held Lizzie's notebook in his mouth and handed it to Luxa, who looked over Lizzie's scrawled handwriting. Then she shook her head and set the notebook on the cipher. Gregor could see that Lizzie had copied down the second-to-last stanza on what used to be the stone wall, and had surrounded it with notes.

"**_The wheels of fate turn left once more  
As two fight eye to eye.  
The princess names the ally in store  
By naming she who lies._**"

"It was 'queen'," She said. "Lizzie tried to write 'Queen Luxa', but the cipher only accepted 'queen'." She pointed to the letter "N", which the arrow was directed to on the wheel with the alphabet. "I am she who lies."

"Perfect," Adrian mumbled under her breath. It seemed obvious who the two fighting eye to eye had been.

Ripred leaned on the cipher. "I say my plan remains valid. Let's head for Hades Hall and steal Lizzie and Boots. We'll get the stingers with their help and be close enough to Regalia to end the war in time for dinner. Any objections?"

No one spoke.

"Good. Humans and Temp, start packing. Fliers, arrange who will fly on whom. Yes, blood-drinker, you're coming despite any objections on her majesty's part. You've been this much of a help, and I won't lose you now. And don't give me that look, Luxa. Lapblood, I want you and your pups to stay behind, find the gnawers that have Lizzie and Boots, and trail them. Send Flyfur or Sixclaw to me every day for reports."

The camp was a bustle of activity, except for Gregor. He stood motionless at the stone cipher, staring at Lizzie's notebook.

Luxa came forward with his hiking backpack for him to put on. "We will find them, Gregor," She said softly as she helped him shrug it on and slipped Lizzie's notebook into it.

"I hope so," Gregor said, staring into the depths of the jungle. He spoke again, so quietly that Luxa had to lean in to hear. "Boots, Lizzie…hang on. I'm coming."

**My apologies for the shortness of the chapter, but what is there to say? However, I will promise you two things about Chapter 21. One: there will be Gluxa. I did not say it'll be good, but it'll be there. Two: the title of the next chapter is "in Which Ripred Tries to Explain Love". On that note, reviews and feedback are appreciated beyond belief!**


	21. iw Ripred Tries to Explain Love

**Alright, about time for an update, huh? Let's see how our merry band of mutants is doing. With regards to coyearth, Darkrider013, stephanie, Sparky123, and Lady Corkboard (thanks for correcting that, by the way, my mistakes always seem to stand out :P), I present a somewhat irrelevent chapter. Or is it?**

**Chapter Twenty-One: in Which Ripred Tries to Explain Love**

The worst part about this entire journey was that Adrian was hungry.

It had taken the group two full days to go from the Seek to Regalia's walls, and another day to edge around the gnawers' camps and into a ruined entrance called the Swag. Adrian had never heard of the Swag, let alone Hades Hall, and would rather have stayed in the jungle and let Boots do the recruiting than watched everyone toss aside boulders in a wall that seemed it would never move. It was cold and dripping wet in here, and- despite the lantern that Gregor had packed for the other humans to use- Adrian was becoming very familiar with her echolocation.

Oh, yes, there were other bad things about this trip. A little less than half the group could see, and the others kept slowing them down by feeling around and stumbling whenever they had to walk. A lot of passages were closed off or too small, almost like the Hall _wanted_ them to proceed on foot. Ripred and Gregor- being closest to the kidnapped princesses- were very irritable and kept glaring into space or telling everyone to pick up the pace. Everyone was tired, hungry, and grouchy. But the worst part for Adrian was knowing that there was no warm-blooded creature that she could feed from that was a stranger to her. Her hunger crippled her into a silent, thoughtless, zombie-like state. Her energy was fast deserting her, and a simple flight exhausted her.

Why were they doing this? Yes, Boots and Lizzie were good humans. But did they have to push themselves to this degree to retrieve them? A rest wouldn't go unwelcome. Unfortunately, Adrian would probably not be heard if she voiced this. The entire group wanted the princesses back, and then they would use them to gain the stingers and battle against the gnawers. Adrian doubted she could convince them otherwise. She could hardly convince herself to walk on.

One thought kept leaking into her mind: did she really need Gregor? He rarely did anything nowadays. Ripred made the plans and snapped at the group to hurry up. Howard was regularly bandaging Nike's feet. Hazard and Temp had small jobs carrying supplies and distributing food. And Luxa was an embodiment of Gregor's will, forcing him to eat and listen to her and Ripred talk about ways to get his sisters back. Gregor didn't actually _do_ anything. What use would he be to anyone in battle? Adrian repeatedly had visions of her leading the stingers singlehandedly while Gregor sat alone in Hades Hall and melted into the rocks and mold. Sandwich couldn't honestly mean that Gregor was going to do battle in this state.

"This'll do," Ripred announced to the group, breaking Adrian's train of thought. "We'll rest here. Nike, eyes out for the pup."

This was Nike's duty, to keep a lookout for either Flyfur or Sixclaw, who came about this time with news about the gnawers that had taken Lizzie and Boots. So far, they had figured that Lizzie had probably told the gnawers- two of them, as Adrian predicted- that the stingers were the allies, because they were headed this way, a few miles behind their own group. The flow of supplies that the gnawers received was steady, and it seemed the girls were at least getting enough to eat. But they had to walk all the way through Hades Hall, and neither girl had the stamina to make it through a day. Two more gnawers had joined the initial kidnappers when they arrived at the gnawers camps outside Regalia; two held the princesses, one held a large basket of food, and one led the way. The group was moving slowly but steadily towards the stingers, and was even catching up with the group (probably why Ripred kept snapping at their heels). Though neither Lapblood nor her pups had been able to contact the sisters for fear that the other gnawers would discover they were being followed, the girls seemed unharmed but scared witless.

The fliers, humans, gnawer, and crawler ate their rations in silence- except for Adrian, who simply watched them- until Nike's ears perked up. "Flyfur is coming."

And so Flyfur arrived, breathing hard as she skidded to a stop in front of Ripred. "Two new creatures have joined them," She panted.

"What do you know of them?" Ripred asked sharply. These reports were quick exchanges of details more often than not. But they were vital reports that everyone waited for with apprehension.

"One large gnawer arrived running about mid-day, followed by a young flier carrying more supplies." Adrian's breath caught in her throat as Flyfur spoke. "We fear the new gnawer is expecting more to join him."

"What about the flier? A messenger?" Ripred asked.

"He follows the orders of all the gnawers, but he looks too young and fed to be from Regalia. He immediately took to Lizzie and Boots- or maybe it was vice-versa- and they went to sleep next to each other. Normally the girls rest as far from the gnawers as possible, but they seem to trust the flier."

"Of course they would," Adrian breathed to herself. Luxa gave her a strange look, which she tried to ignore.

"And the other gnawer? The new one?" Ripred asked.

"He keeps watch as we speak, studying a map of the Underland that he kept in the supplies." A flash went through Adrian's mind, of a scroll that Locklunge had stolen in his younger days. It was a map, used in her training so that she would know where she was to go. Back to Flyfur: "All the other gnawers seem to respect him, seeing as they let him lead them through the tunnels. He had a long discussion with the other four gnawers once the princesses and the flier were asleep. We think he was discussing tactics or allies, from the words we could pick up."

"Anything else?" Ripred said.

"Lapblood wants your permission to trail the pack from farther away. She thinks this new gnawer could sense our presence, and she fears that discovery by him would be…bad."

"Probably for the best that you lay low," Ripred said, which was uncanny, because Adrian had been thinking exactly that. She could take a wild guess on who this gnawer was.

Howard rummaged around one of the backpacks and emerged with graham crackers, half a bag of beef jerky, and a wineskin of water. "I am sorry we cannot afford to give you more," He said and gave the packages to Flyfur. "Our supplies are low."

"Thank you," Flyfur said. This was the only meal that she and her brother and mother got. It must have been like a feast to her. Adrian's stomach grumbled at the thought of a feast.

"Be careful, and come back tomorrow," Ripred dismissed Flyfur, and she sped away. He turned to the group. "Lights out. We're doubling our pace tomorrow, if we can. I don't like the sound of this."

Nobody bothered to complain, just settled on a comfortable spot on the ground. Hazard with Temp, Howard with Nike, Luxa sitting near Gregor to take the first watch…everyone paired off except for Adrian and Ripred. Adrian sighed and lay down a few meters from Luxa, her back turned to everyone. She hoped she wouldn't sleep-feed. She hadn't done it before, but starting now would be catastrophic.

Her dreams were slathered with blood. Aurora's blood. Ares's blood. Silversnap's blood. Her throat ached as she tried to catch it when it splattered, but the blood always evaporated before her mouth could find it. Good. She shouldn't drink from them. She couldn't. But as her dreams continued and the blood increased in magnitude, Adrian thought she could hear screaming. Was it her, or those she loved? The screams increased into steady cries, louder and louder until she saw Darius's face, screaming in time with the noises as his blood-

"Gregor!"

Adrian's eyes shot open as the screaming cut off. Someone else panted with her. She didn't dare turn over, but instead used her echolocation to determine that Luxa had her hand on Gregor's shoulder. He sat up, hyperventilating.

"It was a nightmare, Gregor," Luxa said quietly. "Nothing more."

Gregor took a few deep breaths. His screams had been the ones leaking into Adrian's dreams. His shoulders trembled furiously, and he buried his head in his hands.

"Sorry," He said quietly.

"It is nothing to be sorry for." Luxa matched his tone. "Anyone would have nightmares."

"I don't think so," Gregor said. "It's…it's just hard."

"What is?"

"All this. Regalia is starving, Boots and Lizzie are kidnapped and there's no way for me to get them back, and everyone expects me to do something about all of it. Even if my parents were here, they couldn't fix that. It's…I'm all there is." He began shaking again. Luxa put a hand on his shoulder.

"You are not alone. You know that we are all here for you."

"I know. But when it comes down to it, it looks like I'm the only person who has any control. I'm the guy in the prophecy, and I'm the one getting my family out of trouble. It doesn't matter how I feel about it, whether I know if my parents are alive, or my sisters aren't sick, or if anyone I know is in danger…" He shudders. "And I just have to suck it up and be the hero. And it's hard."

Luxa paused. Adrian could have sworn she was looking into his eyes. "I am not so different," Luxa said. "I am queen of an entire people. I wish I had parents to turn to, or at least living parents to protect."

"Yeah. I keep forgetting," Gregor said. Their heads turned to Adrian, whose back was to them. She kept very still. "You aren't ever going to trust her, are you? After your parents and the rats, and Henry trying to join them-"

"And the boy I care for was almost killed several times on account of gnawers," Luxa finished. "Gregor, when you have suffered so much because the gnawers knew to harm everyone you loved, did you ever consider not loving someone again? That when you have been betrayed so many times, you could not risk trusting someone who thought the same as your enemies?"

"I don't think I could not trust someone unless they were killing me themselves. And love…"

"It is a dangerous time for those thoughts," Luxa sighed. "What would you be ready to risk? Your sisters? Your parents? Your life?"

"You're saying there's no way we can…get back to where we were?"

"Well…no, it was a good feeling, but it was two years ago. And now with the blood-drinker and the trap, there is too much to-"

"I don't want to lose you either, Luxa." Gregor silenced her. "But even if we weren't…you know, at that level, I'd be hurt if something happened to you. You're already one of the things I'm risking, just by being with you. And I don't know about you, but I can't stop love."

Blood rushed to Luxa's face. Her mouth kept moving, but nothing came out. "I…I have really been thinking about you. Us. My entire kingdom. Gregor, no one would understand our feelings. Your popularity goes as far as that of a warrior, but if we were to…"

"Yeah," Gregor muttered. He nodded to Adrian. "And her popularity only goes as far as the savior of the rats. Sorry I brought it up." He rolled over and closed his eyes.

Luxa sighed, and all was still for a few moments, except for Adrian's rumbling stomach. Then, after some thought, Luxa leaned over and whispered in Gregor's ear.

"Gregor? …Could we pretend, just for tonight, that neither of us have anything to lose?" She sounded wistful right then, almost like…like Adrian felt when she wanted Aurora. Alone, nervous, scared that it wouldn't work. But the need to have someone make it better was almost unmistakable.

"I'll move over. You go make Ripred take over the watch," Gregor whispered. It sounded like he was smiling. So Luxa tiptoed around the others to go kick Ripred awake. The grouchy gnawer sat up while Luxa settled next to Gregor, who locked his arms around her middle. She set a hand on his, and soon they were both asleep. Two very worried humans didn't even seem to have any nightmares when they were with each other.

Adrian stayed awake, wondering how it worked. It was like the love that a child would have for a parent, only the two involved had equal feelings. But apart from that, it just seemed so…natural. To make someone feel alright with their very presence, to care for someone and dread losing them…this was love, right? Adrian found herself wondering how Luxa had found it, and how she herself could obtain it. Her only guess was finding Aurora, who made her feel very safe. Could fliers even have love? And was love for a parent different from love for another member of a species?

Oh, this was confusing. Now she was hungry again.

Adrian was wondering if drinking blood either helped or hindered love, when something jabbed her roughly in the back. "I know you're awake," Ripred half-whispered, half-grumbled.

"What?" Adrian whispered.

"Come here."

Adrian stood up and discovered that "here" meant across the camp to the supplies, as she ambled through the sleeping creatures. She stood, swaying from dizziness- another clue that she was lacking in blood- while Ripred shuffled through a smaller backpack and came out with a small rectangular box. He pricked a hole in it with his expert claws, and some liquid splattered on the ground as he held it up to Adrian.

"It's fruit juice," He said. "I'll bet they packed it for Boots, but I want you to try it. Your stomach's been going off like a siren."

"I, uh, have had bad experiences with fruit," Adrian said as she listened to the thin juice splash unappealingly inside the container.

"Humor me," Ripred grumbled. Adrian didn't know the expression, but he had said it in a tone that the gnawers in the jungle used while playing a game with their pups: "eat it and like it or else". She'd never had to play that game, considering the gnawers had always found her type of food, but figured that this was a time to learn.

She opened her mouth, and Ripred dashed a small serving of juice into her mouth. She was about to swallow it straight off and endure whatever misery it brought on, but the taste stopped her. She swished it around. It had something in it, something that she didn't have a name for. It was thinner than blood and flowed like water, but its lukewarm quality had a certain trait that her tongue liked. She perked up at the taste, wondering if there was any creature's blood that tasted like so much sugar.

She swallowed. Her stomach reacted mildly at first, and then roared to life, churning and spewing. The juice erupted and smacked the stone floor next to her. Both she and Ripred were sprayed.

"I am sorry," Adrian apologized as Ripred ran his paws over his fur to get the liquid off.

"Sorry for progress?" He sniffed. "At least we know the blood-drinking isn't due to a shortage of food."

"If it helps, I liked it," Adrian said. "I do not know what to call it, but I did not mind swallowing it."

"It's juice," Ripred repeated. "And it's sweet, tangy, tart…depends on the type of fruit. It's mostly just sugar, though. Let's see what else there is here. Those teeth have to be good for something." He began digging through the bag again.

"Ripred?" Adrian asked quietly as he was searching. Thoughts of Gregor and Luxa's conversations were trickling through her head again. "I am a little confused…about Gregor and Luxa?"

"I thought you'd overheard that." Ripred huffed and turned around. "What is it?"

"Just…is Luxa really in love?"

"Despite all odds, yes."

"How do you know?"

"Gnawers can smell love, and though her highness isn't as pleasant as a queen ought to be, she has the scent. So does Gregor."

"Why?"

"Why are they in love?" Ripred looked her over skeptically. "Those gnawers of your never told you about things like this, did they?"

Adrian shook her head. "It was mostly training and food with them. Survival."

"Mhm." Ripred nodded. "There's an entire life beyond war, and I suppose they didn't think to train you for it." He thought a second, shuffling his feet and playing with his whiskers. This probably wasn't a topic he was too familiar or comfortable with.

He cleared his throat. "Well, I'm not going to tell you why they're in love, because nobody knows. Maybe it was that they owe each other their lives, maybe it's because stubbornness attracts, but I don't know and I don't want to. But I'll tell you that if there's one thing to remember, it's that you should be careful with love."

"Why?"

Ripred made a sort of moaning sound and ran a paw over his eyes. "It's, ah, a good thing to have. But don't go after it," He added quickly. "Almost everyone feels it at some point. Even if it doesn't work out, even if people try to keep you from feeling it…even if there's a…uh, untimely ending…" Ripred shook his head and rummaged through one of the larger backpacks.

"You are loved, right?" Adrian asked. "Even the disliked like you and me, we can…?"

"I said everyone," Ripred grunted and came out of the backpack with a package of bread. He ripped a slice in half and held one out for Adrian."

"Is there more than one love?" Adrian ignored the gesture. "Which did you have?"

"If I answer, will you drop the subject and try to eat?" Ripred snapped. Adrian nodded. "Yes, there's more than one love. There's a different type for everyone close to you." He pushed the bread to her mouth. Adrian frowned and leaned away from the bread.

"But what about you?" She asked. That was the question that burned her most. If there was anyone in this group that was similar to her, it was Ripred. And if he knew these feelings, there could be hope for her that someone- most likely and hopefully Aurora- could love her.

Ripred's arm relaxed, and he lowered the piece of bread. If there had been light at that moment, Adrian thought she could have seen a very depressing emotion in his eyes. "I loved my mate and my pups," He said.

"Where are they now?" Adrian asked.

"Dead. They all drowned. And I almost killed myself mourning them before I got myself together and decided to stop the fighting that had killed my family. Which is why I'm telling you, _be careful_ with love, blood-drinker. Love for another person can make you or break you, depending on what you do with it. Did I say it right? Do I need to spell it out? Or are you going to drop it and eat?"

Adrian sighed and opened her mouth. They tried nibbles of four foods (all rejected) before Ripred said that was enough, the rations would be gone at this rate. But as acidic as her stomach was, and as exhausted as she would be in the morning, Adrian did not go to sleep upset at Ripred for nearly poisoning her. Rather, she thought of him and his love for his dead family, and how he'd used that love to help end fighting; Luxa and her love for her parents, and how she could never trust anyone to do with a gnawer; Gregor and his love for his sisters, and how numb he'd become when they were taken. Adrian fell asleep wondering if she could love, and if the answer was good.

**(*sighs*) Alright, I'll admit it. It could have gone better. I must say, though, I'm pretty content with my Gluxa considering what "romance" I have attempted to write in the past (please note I have burned said "romance" since then, so don't ask). Comments, questions, random statements? All are appreciated!**


	22. iw Ripred Has a Plan of His Own

**I admit, I was holding out for more reviews, but from the extremely kind ones I received from Darkrider013, Kizanna the Underlander, stephanie, and georgeofthecity convinced me that I ought to update anyways. So, on with the chapter!**

**Chapter Twenty-Two: in Which Ripred Has a Plan of his Own**

"I'll forget I saw this, but if you're not apart by the time I wake up Howard, he'll have less mercy."

"Go 'way, Ripred," Gregor grumbled. Luxa laughed slightly. They were still on the ground with their arms around each other.

Ripred went on to nudge Adrian, who had already woken up listening to his warning to Gregor and Luxa. She stumbled up and almost fell on top of Ripred. "Easy there, blood-drinker," He warned and set her up right. "Save your strength. We're not moving on just yet today."

"Why not?" Luxa asked. She and Gregor were getting up in steps; they didn't seem like they wanted to get up completely and let go of each other. But they scooted apart a little when Ripred came to Howard.

"We're closer to the stingers than I thought," Ripred said. "Less than a day's journey. But so are the gnawers that have Lizzie and Boots, who happen to be the ones we need to sway the stingers in our favor. We need a plan."

"I could speak to the stingers," Hazard offered while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Temp and I speak crawler, like some of them can."

"As much as I would prefer it, we can't." Ripred shook his head as the group woke and gathered around him. "Look at how much Boots has inspired the crawlers. They honored her like they would only honor Sandwich, if Vikus told me correctly. And all she had to do was speak to them like they were equals, right? No, Boots is too powerful a diplomat to replace. We need her and Lizzie for this, but getting them from the gnawers won't be easy."

"Why Lizzie?" Adrian blurted. Ripred glared daggers at her, and then went on thinking.

Howard passed out breakfast rations, and slowed a little as he passed Adrian. "It is said that Lizzie reminds Ripred of one of his pups," Howard breathed to her, so quietly that Ripred didn't even snap. "Ripred may want to take care of her after…" He trailed off, glancing to Ripred and looking like he shouldn't be speaking. Adrian nodded in gratitude, and Howard went to give food to Gregor.

"I am sure the blood-drinker could play some part in this," Luxa said pointedly. "Her trust in the gnawers and theirs in her is infamous." Adrian scowled. After all Luxa's mistrust in Adrian, she expected favors still. Adrian owed her nothing.

Ripred noticed her scowling and intervened. "Luxa has a good idea, though I've yet to knock the temper out of her. She still needs to learn that mutual need is the strongest bond she can have, and it's sitting right in front of her."

Luxa glowered at the scolding; Adrian smirked.

"Now, blood-drinker," Ripred continued, "if not for Luxa and her humans, but for the allies of the humans, will you be able to follow a plan I designed?"

Adrian paused, and then nodded.

Ripred outlined his plan, and though the humans and Nike had added in, it was essentially all his. Adrian was so sleepy and hungry that she had to hear the final plan three times before she understood and said that it may work. She had an intense migraine by the time Ripred walked her to the edge of camp and saw her off.

"Remember, the stingers' cave in two hours," He said. "Do you think you can get the lead gnawer to agree?"

"If this is the lead gnawer I think it is, I will be fine," Adrian muttered.

"Meet us near the entrance to the stingers' lair, then. And if you get the chance, sleep some," He muttered back. "Run like the river."

"The same." Adrian stumbled, but gradually worked her way into the air. The breeze helped a little to wake her up, but she had a feeling the trip took longer than it should have. As she landed at the mouth of the cave where the gnawers were residing, she kept an eye out for Lapblood or her pups. They must have been either very far away, or very well hidden.

She did, however, see the gnawer on watch duty. A gnawer from the jungle, and one of the closest things Locklunge would have to a friend. His assistant, perhaps. "Hello, Thrust," She greeted him.

"Adrian?" The gray gnawer came forward to survey her. "That you? Well, what are you doing here?" He nudged her. "Do you need a new corpse? Come over, maybe Locklunge can help."

"Thank you." Adrian half-smiled and followed Thrust's path to the gristly-furred gnawer lying on his stomach, snoring. Like he had done in the cave back at the jungle. It was almost normal. But Silversnap wasn't next to him.

"Locklunge. Hey, Locklunge." Thrust prodded him. "Guess who's here."

Locklunge's eyes snapped open on Adrian almost immediately. He smiled, got up, and stretched a little. "Ah, Adrian. What a nice wake-up call. You look starved."

"I'm afraid my visit has little to do with me. Ripred sent me here with an offer," Adrian said. She scanned the campground. One more gnawer from the jungle- Flametooth- and two more she didn't know were asleep. Near Locklunge, of course. And looking further, nestled in one small pile near a boulder, lay Boots and Lizzie curled up on the ground. Darius had his wings wrapped over them as best he could manage, and they all breathed softly, protecting each other from the cold, wet terrain. Adrian wished she had fallen asleep like that. She couldn't remember sharing warmth and comfort like that, except with Aurora. It looked like a luxury now.

"Oh, forgive me," Locklunge said. "You remember Flametooth, and these two are Slipshade and Flex. Their clans are among those to oversee the siege of Regalia." Locklunge began to kick them. "Wake up! We have a visitor. Someone get the pups."

"Hey, Adrian," Flametooth nodded- having woken up- and went to go wake Darius. His eyes fluttered open, though they did little in this place without a lantern. But she could hear his drowsy echolocation focus on her. He mouthed "hello", and woke up Boots and Lizzie."

"Slipshade, Flex, meet you the blood-drinker, Adrian." Locklunge made the introductions. "I need your input. She comes with an offer from the famed Ripred." He nodded to Adrian, her cue to speak.

"Ripred suggests that your party meet his at the lair of the stingers in two hours. He wants to speak to you diplomatically, Locklunge." Adrian directed this to the leader, though everyone was still and listening apart from an eye twitch that Thrust always had. "He says to add that we all have a mutual need."

Locklunge tapped his tooth and glanced to Lizzie and Boots. The girls were squinting in the darkness, huddled together next to Darius. They obviously didn't want to be there. "Indeed we do," Locklunge mused. "Ripred with the rager, me with the blood-drinker and the princesses."

"Would it be fair?" Slipshade asked.

"He also has a band of human vigilantes that escaped from Regalia. Some of them are quite dangerous to our plan," Locklunge added. "Know you Queen Luxa?"

"How could humans escape the trap?" Thrust asked. He sounded cross.

"Some old digger tunnels," Adrian said, "where Silversnap was killed." An idea occurred to her. "Locklunge, do you not mourn her?"

Locklunge's head inclined slightly. Maybe that was a yes. Adrian continued.

"The rager who killed her will be there to negotiate, along with all those humans you want to trap again. If you came, you could consider this an opportunity to…" She wasn't sure she wanted to say "avenge". But with Locklunge, there were very few other options. Would it be possible for Locklunge to come to terms with Gregor's murdering of Silversnap without using some form of revenge?

Locklunge seemed to be considering this fact that Gregor would be there. Maybe it wasn't for the reasons that she thought. "So tell me, Adrian, what are we to be negotiating diplomatically?"

"They want to determine if Gregor and I will be leading the stingers for or against Regalia. He says it is time to decide. Together, without a battle."

"Stingers?" A small voice chirped. Boots sat up, looking in the direction of the voices. "I remember the stingers. Lizzie, the stingers were so big and nice! And Gregor was there. Bat, where's Gregor now?" She turned to Adrian, her brow furrowed. "Me and Lizzie want him."

"And you will get him," Locklunge said. "Tell Ripred that I accept his offer. I think it _is_ time to decide this." His paw found Adrian's shoulder, and he stroked it in thought. "You'll need blood soon…" He murmured, and then snapped back to his senses. "Pack up! We have two hours to get to the stingers, and we're moving double the pace to get there!"

"Locklunge…" Flametooth beckoned, and the gnawers all preoccupied themselves with assembling the supplies and conferencing in soft whispers. Locklunge's whisper cut into every other word spoken.

Boots ambled towards the voices and bumped into Adrian. Lizzie followed, holding one of Darius's wings for support. "Bat?" Boots asked. "We can see Gregor, right? Gregor and Hazard and Temp and everybody?"

"Yes, Boots." Darius answered before Adrian could. "And you will also have a talk with the stingers. Would you like that?"

"Ye-es! Lizzie, I'll show you the babies!" Boots grinned. Lizzie held tighter to Darius, who didn't seem to notice because he was examining Adrian so closely. He seemed back to normal, but he stared at her as if _she_ had changed. And he pitied her.

Adrian didn't want to think about it. "Tell Locklunge I went ahead. I will see you in two hours." Without a second glance, she took off, trying to keep unexplained shivers from running down her golden stripe.

**Alright...to be honest, I must apologize not only for this chapter, but I feel an overwhelming urge to say the same for the one coming up. If you review, you will find out why, but you may not like what's going to happen next.**


	23. iw Negotiations Go Very Wrong

**Well, you all ought to know that I really am grateful to coyearth, stephanie, Kizanna the Underlander, LadyCorkboard (twice!) and Taryn Streambattle for their reviews, and so I will be updating. At least this one is longer, to make up for the last chapter.**

**Chapter Twenty-Three: in Which Negotiations Go Very Wrong**

Adrian flew for half an hour until she reached the entrance of a cave that Ripred had described to be the place where the most important stingers lived. She landed klutzily and holed up in a rock crevice where one could see her if only they looked at an angle.

She closed her eyes, exhausted, only to have Darius's eyes bore into her in her memory. What was wrong with him? All they were going to do was negotiate who got the stingers. Even if Locklunge and Ripred would have a hard time debating…in fact, they may end up fighting…and each of them had warriors at their disposal to sort it out…alright, alright, maybe this wouldn't be good. But Ripred most likely had a secret weapon, and Locklunge always found a way to trump others, so it could be alright. So why did Darius have such a pitying expression? She was just fine. _He_ was forced to be at Locklunge's side, with food, and water, and no one hating him, and sleeping with others for heat, and having no hand in planning, and food…

Adrian was just nodding off when something sharp poked her. Howard stood in front of the crevice in the rock, smiling apologetically and prodding her with the hilt of his dagger. She got out and joined the group, hardly registering with her sluggish mind that the defenders of Regalia must have gotten here first. She felt even worse than before she tried to sleep.

"We're all here and accounted for, then?" Ripred nodded to Adrian and Howard. "Excellent. Now, I've been thinking, and I want most of you to speak with the stingers while a few delegates and I are speaking with whoever the gnawers vote to negotiate with us. If we have more than three from our group speak, it'll be chaos."

"Who are the three?" Luxa asked.

"Me, Gregor, and the blood-drinker."

"_What?_" Luxa sprang up. "You do not even let me speak for my people? I must be there, to see that Regalia is safe! I will _not _let the gnawers win the stingers without a fight. And the blood-drinker is not even on our side, so why would you let her speak for-"

"Luxa!" Ripred snarled. "This is exactly why I don't want you there. In one breath, you flew off the handle, insulted one of the most powerful creatures involved, threatened violence, and made it clear that the word 'compromise' isn't even in your vocabulary. Now you can listen to the Peacemaker, or you can guarantee the death of Regalia."

He glared at her, and she slowly sat down, muttering about a "self-elected" Peacemaker.

"Now, while we're negotiating, I want you all to fill the stingers in on everything that's been happening. I can't imagine they get any recent news down here, so tell them everything you remember. Maybe they'll decide for themselves who they want to follow. Hazard, Temp, this is where you come in as translators, in case Boots is…otherwise occupied. And none of you are to come for us. We'll work things out in our own good time. This also means no eavesdropping." He scowled towards Luxa, who scowled back.

"Oh, and my delegates?" Ripred addressed Gregor and Adrian. "Be careful of what you say. It can and will be used against you. I'll do most of the speaking. I've got a few things I want to bring up."

There wasn't much to do after that besides sit and wait. Ripred seemed to be doing some intense calculations, and Gregor looked like he was trying to calm Luxa down, but everyone else sat frozen in place, watching and waiting. Until Nike lifted her head and said, "They arrive."

Ripred stood up, and so did everyone else. "Let's try to be agreeable, everyone," He said. "Pretend our lives don't depend on this."

"Manners at a time like this, Ripred?" Howard raised an eyebrow.

"It's not manners," Ripred said. "It's politics."

Locklunge entered the small chamber first, walking briskly while flanked by Slipshade and Flex. This was only for show, to make everyone impressed with his ease and intimidated by his company. Flametooth and Thrust carried Lizzie and Boots in, and Darius walked behind them. Each party had eight people, and they each stared at each other warily for a bit before Ripred came forward and clasped his paws with Locklunge in a sort of gnawer handshake.

"You must be Locklunge," He said in a strong voice. "Thanks for bringing your party out here."

"Anytime, Ripred the Peacemaker," Locklunge replied with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Ripred?" Lizzie straightened on Flametooth's back.

"I'm here, Lizzie," Ripred said. "Stay still, okay?" And, noting Boots' squirming on Thrust: "You too, Boots."

"But where's Gregor and Hazard and Temp and everybody?" Boots sounded sad.

Temp scuttled forward to meet the princess, but Luxa put a hand on his shell and gently held him back. "The gnawers have her," She whispered. "We cannot take her yet."

"No, let the crawler come," Locklunge said. "I do not wish to be cruel to the princesses. I have been feeding them generously, and making sure they were warm," He added as Temp ran at top speed to let Boots pet him and speak to him in crawler.

"And I appreciate it," Gregor said. His eyes were narrowed. "Good to know my sisters can survive without me."

"Ah, the rager." Locklunge turned his attention to Gregor. There was a hint of iciness in his words. "I have heard much about you."

"Enough with introductions," Slipshade interrupted. "We are in stinger territory. We must alert them to our presence, or carry on negotiations elsewhere to avoid an attack."

"Slipshade is right," Locklunge said. "I should like to negotiate here, if possible. Ripred, did you warn the stingers yet?"

"I can't, unfortunately. I was hoping you would do the honors, with your…guest." Ripred gestured to Boots. Adrian had a feeling that he was only acting so hospitable because this was a special occasion. Normally he was growling at everybody, and Adrian supposed he thought that not threatening anyone would be a better way to get things done. Adrian began to wish she could do that, because she saw the power in that strategy when Locklunge next spoke.

"Alright," He said after a thought. "We'll send the princess inside the cavern, see if she can't communicate with the stingers. But I want the blood-drinker and the rager with her."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Ripred nodded, and Locklunge called Thrust over with Boots and Temp. With a nod from Luxa, Gregor let go of her hand and picked up his sister.

"Gregor!" Boots cried and hugged his torso with her arms and legs. "I missed you!"

"Me too, Boots." Gregor smiled weakly. But the lines around his eyes meant he was worried. "Hey, you remember the scorpions? And the babies?"

"Yeah, we're gonna go see them, right?" She asked eagerly.

Gregor started walking towards the cave. Nike whispered in Adrian's ear, "Go with them", and she limped towards them.

"Yeah," Gregor said to his sister. "And when we find them, I need you to talk to them, okay? Look for one that speaks crawler, and tell them we're not going to hurt them. Remember what they almost did to Thalia?"

Boots nodded. "Hazard saved her." Everyone was slowly following them to the doors of the cave, to see how things would turn out.

"And now you can save us," Gregor said, and set her down on the ground. "Go find some scorpions," He told her, almost regretfully. Adrian wondered what had happened to Thalia that was haunting Gregor.

Boots hit the ground running, her footsteps pattering into the distance. It was a huge cavern that could probably hold two Seeks. The walls were riddled with cracks and crevices, and some led off into smaller caves. Boots started climbing on one of the strange rocky lumps that rose from the ground like little mountains. There were about five or six lumps here, and an indefinite amount in the other caves.

Gregor and Adrian walked onto the wet floor, which tilted down from the entrance slightly. The air was cold and stale here, and the room seemed to be breathing- stealing the air from the lungs of the human and gnawer spectators- in a way that made Adrian uneasy. There was water dripping from the ceiling, and some carcasses of insects in the corner. At least they were carnivores in their own sense, Adrian noted wryly.

Boots was climbing on top of the lump on the ground as if it was her giant toy. The girl had spent the better part of the past few days sitting on a gnawer's back, so at least she could burn some energy now. As she felt for footholds and hoisted herself higher and higher, Adrian thought- maybe it was a falter in her echolocation- she saw the mountain twitch.

Temp burst into a series of rapid clicks and came blaring down the slant of the cave floor, past Adrian and Gregor, and he stood at the foot of the hill making furious noises.

"What is it _doing?_" Locklunge's roar echoed across the cave.

"He says the mountain is not a mountain," Hazard called to everyone. "It and the others are breathing!"

No sooner were the words out of the mouth than the mountain creaked and came to life with Boots on top of it. Boots shrieked as it unfolded into a giant body with six legs, a pair of pincers, and one long, flailing tail with a point leaking some sort of pus. It started dancing in a sense, trying to buck Boots off its back and hit her with its tail.

"Boots!" Gregor cried, unsheathing his sword in a blur. The noises were enough to make the other lumps on the ground rise up in defense of their comrade. These were stingers, Adrian realized with a sense of dread. They dwarfed her, and their fierce determination to ward off the threat was unnerving.

"Come on!" Adrian broke her view of the stingers to realize that Gregor was trying to mount her. The wild look in his eyes was enough to make her lean down and let him on her back, and they took off.

"This is a peaceful mission," Adrian reminded Gregor before he could tell her to go down. She just wanted to avoid those armor-plated tails and the neon pus they excreted.

"Just grab Boots!" Gregor said desperately and signaled for Adrian to bullet down to the stinger that carried the girl. She obeyed, muscles groaning, and closed her eyes as tails darted towards her body. But a "clack" sound resonated when the tails should have stabbed her; Gregor deflected the lethal points with his sword. She flew on as he leaned over her shoulder, taking care not to harm the stingers as they worked towards Boots.

The bucking stinger was hardest. Once the other stingers saw that no one was being killed, they retracted their tails. But the stinger with Boots was in full-out panic attack, screeching and spinning and jumping. Boots swung like a limp tail as she held onto the edge of one of the slick black plates that covered its body. At first she squealed, but when she saw Gregor fighting towards her, she clicked her tongue as fast as she could.

Gregor signaled for Adrian to pause as the singers listened to Boots in confusion. Temp- still on the ground, trying to avoid the stinger- clicked too, and that was all that could be heard until one of the larger stingers came forward and clashed tails with the panicking one.

Boots slid off of the stinger and climbed on top of Temp's back to continue. Some stingers were actually sitting on their lower appendages in order to better listen. The groups of gnawers and humans stood at the entrance silently (probably because they now knew that noises upset everyone). As Adrian banked and laded behind Boots, she thought it was absurd that Boots could make so many clicking noises and still not know how to use echolocation.

Heart rates and sharp breathing were considerably lower in the room when Boots stopped abruptly. Her last noises echoed through the giant chamber and into the smaller rooms branching off (some stingers from those caves had come out to listen also). Boots sat on Temp, watching the stingers with interest.

The stingers looked at each other, and then one of them made a low buzzing sound, to be responded to with other buzzes. The room hummed for a moment before the stinger that had stopped its bucking comrade spoke to Boots in more clicks. Adrian sighed. She had not known how boring a conversation could be if she didn't speak the language.

Boots turned around. "Come over! They don't want to hurt us." The groups hesitantly trickled into the cavern and stood behind Boots.

"Ask them if they know about the trap of Regalia," Ripred said.

Boots relayed the question. "Nope," She answered. "But this one remembers the deal Luxa made with his daddy. He's one of the babies I petted, guys!" She grinned to the stinger that spoke in crawler.

"And what deal did Luxa make?" Ripred glared to Luxa.

"She and some stingers vowed to be peaceful with each other, shortly before we went to war with the Bane," Howard explained for his cousin. "We almost killed each other before Hazard spoke to them in crawler."

Ripred looked between Howard and Luxa for a moment, then crossed his arms and grumbled something about "nobody tells me anything." The pout was short-lived, though.

"The stingers want to know who 'it that drinks red' and 'it that blurs in battle' are." Boots furrowed her eyebrows.

"The blood-drinker and the rager," Hazard told her. "They are Gregor, and Adrian the blood-drinker who you call 'bat'."

"Oh!" Boots exclaimed and talked to the stingers. "They want to know what they want them to do."

"This would be our cue to go discuss the matter," Ripred said to Locklunge. "Care you to bring anyone besides the rager and the blood-drinker? I want to leave the others here to explain the situation to the stingers."

"Actually," Locklunge grinned, "I would like two to come with me, as witnesses only. I want the flier I brought here to accompany me, so I can watch over him." Adrian glanced to Darius at the back of the group, who fidgeted with his wings. "And I want Lizzie the code-breaker."

"Why?" Gregor and Ripred barked simultaneously.

Locklunge's grin turned into a smirk. "Why not?"

Ripred and Gregor exchanged looks. He had a point. Lizzie was still in Locklunge's custody, and they had to navigate these waters carefully in order to get her back. Locklunge could demand a higher price- say, Gregor and the stingers- if they put themselves in this position.

Before they could leave, Boots caught her brother by the hand. "Where you going, Gregor? Stay and meet the stingers."

"I will soon, Boots," Gregor said and gently took her hand away. "I have to do something first. You be good, okay? See you soon."

"See you soon!" Boots smiled and waved him off, then turned to speak with the stingers. They seemed to enjoy talking with her, too. Maybe she really was too valuable to replace.

The delegation party moved to the exit as the others lit some torches and settled down. Adrian caught Luxa mouth something to Gregor, to which he smiled and nodded. Wherever that gesture had come from, it boosted Gregor's morale. Everyone else was pretty somber, even Darius, who trudged behind Adrian.

Locklunge stopped them in the small cave outside and beckoned to a passageway that Adrian had hardly noticed. It was small, but led to a room that maybe three humans could camp in comfortably. Each side (Gregor and Ripred, and Locklunge, Darius, and Lizzie) was forced to look at each other even though they were on opposite walls with about six feet between them. Adrian leaned on the wall between them, facing the exit.

When Locklunge spoke, his political tone was gone. "Listen, Ripred, time is running out. I want to decide this quickly, so I hope you have an argument ready."

"Easy," Ripred warned. "I think we've got plenty of time to come to a conclusion. All of Regalia won't starve in another night, and our allies aren't pressuring us for an answer just yet."

Locklunge sat back, but did not relax. "Forgive me. War is hard on us all, as we have reason to know."

"Exactly," Ripred nodded. "I want to call attention to the Prophecy of Trap, to start off. Everyone thinks there'll be some guidelines there. What I noticed is that it said the rager- being Gregor- and the blood-drinker will 'save who gave the flier light'. So all we need to do is think of who gave the flier light, unless Sandwich has left more to the puzzle."

"He must have," Lizzie murmured next to Locklunge.

"What, Lizzie?" Ripred asked.

"Well, the bats- who're allies with the humans- are Adrian's family. Ares and Aurora gave her light by making her. But the rats fed her and raised her," Lizzie said. She sounded tired and cold and out of place in this whole affair. Adrian thought that if one were to add "hungry" to the list, that would be her exactly.

"It is tricky," Locklunge said. "But remember that most humans and fliers disown her by rejecting her. We have given her blood, where she would otherwise starve."

"Does that make her a gnawer?" Ripred asked. "Because it looks to me like you're feeding her because of something other than her well-being."

"What about the humans? Would they keep alive something they reject, regardless of the reason? If the blood-drinker wants to take revenge on those humans, who am I to stop her?"

"But that is not the only reason, is it?" Darius spoke up. Everyone looked at him, as if just realizing he was there next to Lizzie.

"Hush, boy," Locklunge said.

"The prophecy also says that Adrian will need to follow her heart. What I want to know is, is her heart set on revenge?" Darius looked to Adrian, who stared back incredulously. He knew about her desires, her fears- he knew everything she knew about herself. How dare he bring up what she would not?

"Of course I want revenge," Adrian said coldly. She felt exposed, like he had revealed one of her secrets. It _felt_ like a secret, her love for Ares and Aurora.

"Revenge against whom?" Ripred asked.

"Queen Luxa," Adrian responded. "She keeps me from my mother and started the war that killed my father." But the looks on most everyone's faces- and the way Gregor shifted where he sat- made her pause. "Right, Locklunge?"

"Right," Locklunge nodded.

"Then what are your feelings towards Gregor? You know how close he and her highness are, after all," Ripred said. Gregor's face filled with blood, and Adrian's stomach growled.

"She hated him for a while," Locklunge answered for Adrian. "But over time she saw that Gregor was not to blame, being a _pawn_ of the humans."

Gregor straightened and turned to Locklunge. "So what's she? A pawn for you and your rats? Or are you just fulfilling her wish to make Luxa suffer? Because trapping and torturing her people to get to her? That's just low."

"Gregor-" Ripred snarled.

"Oh, and another thing?" Gregor continued. "I actually like Adrian. I don't think this is her plan at all, you're just using her as an excuse to one-up the humans one last time."

"You are lying to her," Darius added. "Telling her all this will benefit her. If you are doing this for her, where is her mother?"

Adrian looked between Gregor and Darius incredulously. Why would Locklunge lie to her? And how could Gregor, a human, like her despite her blood-drinking and his association with Luxa? And what was Darius _doing?_

Locklunge spoke coolly, his eyes on Gregor. "Ah, the rager. This seems an unfortunate time for you to be so disrespectful. You too, boy." He nodded to Darius. "I have more power than you give me credit for."

"How?" Gregor asked suspiciously.

"Your sister, Lizzie, for one thing, is mine." Locklunge ran a paw over the side of Lizzie's face. She trembled, not daring to speak. "And Boots can be taken with one simple order from me. Flametooth and Thrust were fast enough to retrieve her before the walls at the Seek crushed her, weren't they?"

"We know you have that power," Darius grumbled. "What else?"

"Oh, Adrian, I have some new reports," Locklunge turned to face the black-and-gold flier. She knew this tone. Locklunge was quite the dramatist; he would often tell a story as nonchalantly as possible, to see what he could stir up. "Flex told me about one story late last night. He is captain of the guard for the walls at Regalia, and he takes great pride in his work. He thinks he can keep people out as well as in.

"So imagine his surprise when he sensed two grown Overlanders in the palace, calling for their son and daughters. A flier had escorted them from one of the portals of the Overland and into the city, and Flex's gnawers let them in because they thought the flier to be one of my aids!" Locklunge chuckled. "Of course it was Hestia. And I don't think she really thought that the parents of the rager and the princess would be of any help. I think she was trying to help the humans. Flex thought the same at the time, so naturally he had her punished."

Darius's eyes were wide, his wings shaking, tightening, loosening like a human flexed its fist. "Where- is- she?"

"Where all the dangerous and rebellious creatures go: the dungeons. Our persuasion methods are not going as planned, and one human died without giving us any information. Maybe Hestia will know something more, given her time out and about. Perhaps one of my messengers will come around soon, and we'll see how she's handling."

Darius's breathing rattled his chest. He looked as if he was burning to tackle and beat Locklunge with his wings, but he knew what would happen to Hestia if he did. Adrian sensed his heart beating faster and his muscles clenching. But there was nothing he could do. Locklunge knew this, and he leered at Darius.

"What about my parents?" Lizzie mewed. She might have been trying to curl up into herself.

"Field work, for now," Locklunge said. "But I'll be sending orders for them to be taken to the dungeons too. You never know-"

"NO!" Gregor cried. His sword sprung out, and he bulleted for Locklunge, who leaped to his feet as quickly as Gregor could unsheathe his weapon. The two were about to crash into each other head-on before Ripred thrust himself between them. He grunted, but with his muscled forearms, he could keep sword and claw from meeting.

"_Enough_," He growled. Everyone's breathing was ragged, but that was all that could be heard besides Ripred. Gregor tried to impale Locklunge, who twitched his claw towards some of Gregor's skin. But Ripred's grip was too strong, and they couldn't move an inch.

"I can't have you at each other's necks," Ripred panted. "We're here to decide who's fighting for whom. We're not going to kill each other yet."

"He- has- my- parents!" Gregor hacked his sword towards Locklunge. Lizzie nodded in the corner; she was sobbing and hiccupping like they had already died.

"You're above this!" Ripred snarled. "Both of you. None of you will kill each other while I'm here."

"Ah, Ripred?" Locklunge said. His muscles had loosened, and though he still glared at Gregor, he didn't sound as malicious. "I think I have a contradiction."

Locklunge's right paw slammed into Ripred's eye, right on top of the "x" that marked him as Peacemaker. Ripred let go of both creatures and put his paws over his eyes, screaming in rat. Gregor realized what was going on and hacked his sword at Locklunge, who leaned to the side and only got a few pieces of fur hacked off. While Gregor repositioned, Ripred slammed his body into Locklunge. Locklunge's feet skidded as he was pushed against the wall, but then grinned; he pressed his entire body against the wall and sent Ripred toppling to the ground. He leaned over Ripred's head, and- with his sharp index claw- slit a hole into Ripred's neck on top of one of his arteries.

Time stood still as the rich, warm, coppery scent of blood hit Adrian like an avalanche. She saw Ripred struggling to attack, Gregor's sword reaching for Locklunge, Locklunge's movements to strike, all in shades of red. Her muscles began to coil, her heart began to pound, her adrenaline began to summon all her remaining strength. No, it was Ripred, she couldn't just-

A drop of his blood dripped onto the dirt.

With an unearthly squeal, Adrian flung herself on top of Ripred writhing body, so quickly that Locklunge tripped over her and ended up ducking Gregor's next blow with his sword. She leaned her mouth near his neck. Blood was pouring out like a steady stream, and she drank, oh how she drank. Her muscles bloated, her mouth got sticky, her senses sharpened. Locklunge was laughing next to her; Lizzie was screaming and could not work up the oxygen to do anything more; Darius was watching.

Gregor roared and charged to Adrian, pulling her by the shoulders. So much like Luxa had done when she was drinking from Aurora. But blood made her strong. She had enough strength to turn and slash at Gregor. She hit his sword hand. He dropped his weapon, screaming like Ripred had. Blood was blooming on a scar perpendicular to the one that Silversnap had given him. It made an "x", another target if he attacked again.

Adrian went back to Ripred, who was squirming underneath her wings. Gregor kept tugging at her- ignoring the pain- so she turned around. She rammed one of her wings into him, holding the other against Ripred- maybe that would get him away from her. It ended up having so much force that his feet lifted off the ground and he smacked into the wall about three feet from the floor; a piece of rock that jutted out from the rest of the wall slammed into his lower back. His mouth opened in surprise; no air came out. He landed in a rough position, with his neck tilted awkwardly and his limbs sprawled out. The back of his hand bled still.

Lizzie ran to her brother, hiccupping and shaking his back. "G-Gregor, get up! _Gregor!_"

"No use!" Locklunge cackled, and bounded to Gregor's limp body.

It was the diversion Ripred needed. With only one of Adrian's wings against him, he leaped to his feet and turned to fight against Adrian, his blows blurring as he reached for any pressure point he could reach on her body. But Adrian found her wings against each of his paws, and once or twice his tail- she was catching his blows- she knew from training where he wanted to hit. He didn't strike enough to hurt her; his lack of blood was making him uncoordinated. With Adrian's stomach taking the blood and turning it into strength, she pounced on Ripred and smothered his face. As he struggled to breathe, she struck her claw against his eye once more, right as Locklunge got beneath her and clumsily stuck Gregor's sword into Ripred's gut. The gnawer fell against the wall and slumped down; he had lost so much blood that he couldn't get up.

"Ripred!" Lizzie cried, shuffled from Gregor on her knees, and fell down next to Ripred. He was already facing her, and could seem to move nothing but his eyes and mouth. Precious blood was condensing in a puddle. Adrian lapped up some of it.

"It's okay, Lizzie," Ripred muttered, slurring his words.

"Fight- back," Lizzie gasped. "I- can't- do it! I- can't- lose you!"

"You won't," Ripred said before a huge shudder ran through him. His blood-flow was slowing; his heart rate was fading. "L-Lizzie, promise me. Don't be scared. Just think like m-me. I'll help you."

"R-Ripred-" Lizzie sniffed.

"Always."

"Ripred…"

"_Promise._"

The strength of his words was enough for Adrian to stop and look into the dying gnawer's eyes.

"I promise," Lizzie breathed.

Ripred looked gratified. Adrian's hunger subsided finally as she watched a good gnawer shiver, close his eyes, and stop his heart. In death, he still looked sturdy and powerful.

Lizzie placed her lips on Ripred's furry cheek for a moment, and then burst into tears. "You- killed- them!" She pointed a trembling finger to Adrian. "You killed- my b-brother- and- Ripred!"

Yes, she had.

"Come, Adrian," Locklunge said in her ear. "The rager and the Peacemaker are dead. The stingers are ours."

"But…I cannot…" Adrian whispered and stumbled back. Ripred was before her, with his gut bleeding, his main artery punctured…but it had been the spot on his eye that had truly been his downfall. And she had been the one to do this. And to the side was Gregor's mangled body, with his ribs misaligned, his neck twisted, his limbs flailed out on the ground. Adrian found herself almost willing them to twitch, so the two of them would live. The only medium between her and her enemies, gone.

"I- c-can't- live- without- them!" Lizzie screeched. Her tiny fists whacked against Adrian. It didn't hurt, but it got her attention. Between the spine-wracking sobs and generous tears, Lizzie was furious. And she was taking it out on Adrian.

"Stop," Adrian said. She didn't need this guilt. But Lizzie persisted. "Enough…" How could this girl pound so fervently, like she actually had strength? But she had one thing: hate. Oh, of course she hated Adrian. Everyone did.

Lizzie had begun kicking now. That woke Adrian from the Waterway of misery flooding her over. She raised her wings and hissed, baring her teeth. Lizzie screeched and tried to crawl back before bumping into Gregor's body. Darius stood between the two and looked Adrian in the eye. There was something new in his eyes: pain, confusion…fear. Of her.

"No," He said. "No more meals."

"You see?" Locklunge crooned. "The human, this weak pup, tried to beat you. What would the other humans do? I'd say that taking the stingers and ending Regalia is all you can do to protect yourself. Otherwise, they'll strike you first."

"He's lying," Darius said. "Adrian, it's not too late to redeem yourself. Ignore him, come with me to Regalia, and we can find our mothers and stop this madness! They will forgive you if you do."

"Right, and I'm a crawler. Silence, boy," Locklunge glared.

Darius looked at Locklunge evenly. "No."

"What?"

"I am tired of this, Locklunge. She is a tool to you, because you fill her head with nonsense. I have tried begging her, I have tried reasoning with her, I have tried teaching her myself. But you still keep your hold, and you are taking this too far. You _want_ her to lead the stingers singlehandedly! Perhaps you even planned the murder!"

"Stop, boy!" Locklunge leaned on his haunches; a warning.

"Adrian, do not do it," Darius pleaded. "You trust me, right? I can take you to Aurora, or find you a home far from the gnawers. If you make war-"

"I saved your life," Locklunge snarled to her. "I let you drink blood."

It was hard for Adrian to breathe. She didn't know what she wanted. Locklunge with a menacing look in his eyes, Darius still afraid and war-torn, she owed so much to both and they had so much ready for her. Lizzie's sobs reminded her that she was a killer. What could they want with a killer? Who would love a killer?

"I do not know." Adrian shook her head. "I do not know!"

Locklunge and Darius looked at her, then at each other. Darius hobbled over to Lizzie, and silently guided her up and to the door of the cave. Then, as loudly as he could, he yelled: "MURDER! Locklunge has taken over! MURDER!"

He hoisted Lizzie on his back and was off before Locklunge could steal him back. So, cursing, Locklunge got on Adrian's back and started roaring orders when they reached the stingers' clearing. "Take them all! I want them captured or dead! Adrian, after the boy!"

Darius had landed and delivered Lizzie to Luxa and Howard, who were taking out weapons. Boots struggled to reach her sister but was grabbed along with Temp by one of the gnawers. Hazard started beating at the gnawer and was captured himself. Luxa fended off the remaining two gnawers while Howard loaded some supplies and Lizzie onto Nike. The stingers watched all this with confusion, not knowing who to attack or defend.

Locklunge spurred Adrian after Darius, but with a gnawer on her back and a crushing desire not to harm her friend, Adrian's load was too heavy. Darius ducked into an elaborate system of crevices that Adrian couldn't follow with her burden. And when they retraced their steps, they weren't even able to keep up with Nike. There were too many people and too much chaos. Locklunge called a regroup.

"Who have we managed to keep?" He asked.

"The princess, the crawler, and the Halflander," Thrust replied, nursing a wounded foreleg. "We also got some of their food."

"Good," Locklunge said. "Have the princesses tell the stingers to be ready within one hour. We'll catch up with the queen and her friends in Regalia. With Adrian," He patted her shoulder, "we will win."

Adrian turned away from him and looked to the ground. She could not believe herself. Now, she truly had no one left but the gnawers, and along with Ripred and Gregor, she had killed her fantasies of being loved. For who would love a killer? Not even Aurora.

But these were things her subconscious was analyzing. Only one phrase conquered her entire conscious mind: "_What have I done?_"

**Even if the force from your flames will reduce me to ashes, any sort of reaction is always welcome.**


	24. iw Darius Makes a Friend

**Alright, I have four minutes to post a chapter, so I can't make apologies for my last chapter just yet. Instead, with many thanks to coyearth, LadyCorkboard, Kizanna the Underlander, and stephanie, you may have this seemingly irrelevant chapter.**

**(Really, I'm just rewarding you all for your awesome work- we have more than one hundred reviews. Thank you!)**

**Chapter Twenty Four: in Which Darius Makes a Friend**

Darius zigzagged through the tunnels until he could sense no one near him. Cautiously, he landed and slumped down on the ground. Once his breathing and heart rate had gone back to normal, he kicked a rock in frustration.

Oh, that had gone well. Hestia was imprisoned and being tortured. Locklunge would probably now target him as Public Enemy Number One. And Adrian… The killings weren't her fault, that he knew. Locklunge must have meant for Ripred to bleed, so she would get hungry. And then, she didn't know how strong she was when she tried to protect herself.

But still, to see two good creatures die, and then for her to scare Lizzie to the point of a heart attack…he knew Adrian had lost her innocence. And it was Locklunge's fault, for polluting her with thoughts about evil humans and good gnawers. Maybe he had wanted Darius and Hestia to see things the same way. Yeah, right.

This was a bad time for his blood to be boiling. Onto other matters, Darius now realized that he was probably now abolished from any clan of Locklunge's. He had no idea where he was supposed to be or what to do, for the first time in his life. Hestia or Locklunge had always arranged that.

He supposed the first thing to be concerned about was food. He didn't know when Locklunge and Adrian would leave with the stingers, so he'd find their camp first and see if he could take something. If not, maybe there were some fish around. He hoped so, because it could take days for him to figure out how to get out of Hades Hall, and there was little food beyond the exit. Maybe he would be lucky.

Darius fluttered around the fissures and caves, trying to retrace his steps. He had been incredibly frightened of Locklunge and…well, not Adrian; regardless, he had hardly paid attention to where he was going. Nevertheless, he worked his way to the hall that led to the stingers' lair. He crept to the entrance to the cave and- being careful to keep his heart rate low so Adrian couldn't smell him and his blood- looked inside.

The stingers were all bustling, assembling themselves and eating last meals of dead insects. Locklunge was with them, using his large map of the Underland to chart a course out of the Hall and explain it to the stingers though Boots. The child looked very anxious with her friends' sudden departure and all the strange creatures around. She kept looking to Adrian (next to her, shunning everything) or to her companions, a Halflander and a crawler. They stood closest to the cave entrance, with a few baskets and backpacks and two gnawers immersed deep in conversation.

Boots' friends were probably Darius's best bet for food. There was little light, but one of the gnawers could have a chance to see him if it wasn't talking. He stayed as close to the wall as he could and tip-toed towards the supplies.

He was about five feet away when the Halflander spotted him. They both froze and locked gazes before the Halflander took tiny steps to meet Darius. The gnawers stood immersed in conversation.

"You were at the negotiations?" He asked. Darius nodded.

The Halflander boy glanced to the gnawers guarding him, then to Boots with the stingers. "Who was murdered?"

"Ripred and Gregor," Darius breathed. The Halflander's eyes widened and he shook his head. Either he couldn't believe it, or he knew it was a very bad thing. Maybe both.

"Did the blood-drinker kill them?" He asked.

Darius shook his head. "Locklunge made her."

"Food?" was his next question. When Darius agreed, the Halflander turned, and- as noiselessly as he could- unfastened a pouch from a backpack that must have come from the Overland judging from its design and material. He made a makeshift strap by cutting a bit of rope found in a basket, and fastened the pouch around Darius's neck. From their weight, Darius thought he could make the supplies stretch perhaps a week.

The gnawers behind them started to quiet down. Locklunge was trying to get everyone's attention. Darius fled to the door, praying no one had seen him. The Halflander's "fly you high" lay back in the cave.

Darius took off once he was a reasonable distance away from the entrance. He needed somewhere to hide; if he could hide, he could wait and follow them. If he could go unnoticed, he wouldn't even have to look for the exit. But where could he hide? He could hear the stingers' sticklike feet clamoring out of their residence, with the gnawers, humans, and Adrian likely with them.

He ducked into a cave whose entrance he had almost missed. Once inside, he pressed himself against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut and listening with all his might for a sign that no one was coming after him.

The sound of the stingers' scuttles grew louder until it seemed like they were going to stampede into the cavern. The pace never slowed, but the noise slowly ebbed away, until Darius slunk to the floor and sighed. He opened his eyes.

There, on the ground, were Ripred and Gregor's bodies. So he'd returned to the cave where negotiations turned into another cruel plot where Locklunge got his way. There was very little blood, and Darius almost shivered to think of why. He'd only ever seen Adrian feed on corpses and a few half-dead creatures. He hated to think- and he thought she did too- that the victims actually had thoughts and feelings and a family. He knew she needed to drink, and that it was bad to hurt anyone because of it. But Locklunge had told her otherwise.

Darius sighed again, and as he did, he thought he saw that sigh be recycled. By Gregor. Into a breath. Darius paused. Gregor's chest froze, and then ever so slightly moved again. Definitely a breath. Darius crossed the room in bounds and nudged Gregor's body until he was on his back, eyes clothes, mouth open, limbs twisted. Not dead. Unconscious.

Not dead. If Gregor wasn't dead, he could help persuade Adrian to join the humans' side. She could feel less guilty. Perhaps no one would be upset with her, if she explained what happened with Ripred.

Darius hoisted Gregor's dead weight onto his shoulders as best he could. "Hold on," He muttered. "You are going to end this madness."

As Darius took off with Gregor, he faltered a bit. He'd never had a rider with so much dead weight before. But, gritting his teeth, he managed to follow the stinger army at a reasonable distance. When Locklunge and his camp settled, Darius landed in a tunnel behind them, yanked off the pack around his neck, and used his teeth to try and tug away the metal tab that kept the bag sealed. It was remarkably hard without thumbs.

He thought he had been doing a good job of not making a sound, so he had reason to be suspicious when someone sneezed in the hallway behind him. He froze, and though it was pitch black, his echolocation showed him three large bodies hiding behind a stone wall.

One of the bodies shuffled towards the entrance and showed itself. It was a slender female gnawer, staring in Darius's direction. She scurried closer to him, and cocked her head at him. "Who are you?" She breathed.

"Who wishes to know?" Darius hissed.

"Flyfur. And my brother Sixclaw and mother Lapblood. Did Ripred send you to follow the gnawers too?" As Flyfur spoke, her family quietly approached them. The other female- Lapblood- sniffed Gregor's body on the floor and gasped.

"What are you doing with Gregor?" She asked.

"You do not know what happened in the past day, do you?" Darius asked. They shook their heads, and he spoke as quickly and quietly as he could, filling them in. When he got to Ripred's attack, Sixclaw growled, Lapblood shook her head mournfully, and Flyfur looked ready to cry. He tried to sum it up with the bright side, how Gregor was alive and the queen and the code-breaker were free.

"And what did you plan to do with him?" Lapblood nodded to Gregor's body. "He might be upset with the blood-drinker. I wouldn't be surprised if he stood by Queen Luxa to avenge his family's capture, if not Ripred's death."

Darius bit his lip. "He may. But what if I return him to Queen Luxa? I have heard of their feelings. He is the only one who could possibly persuade her to not attack Adrian. I know Adrian. She will only attack in hunger or defense, and if Queen Luxa gives the first blow, the gnawers will respond for their blood-drinker. Even if the rager's help is a long shot, it is our only hope to avoid war.

Gregor stirred a little at that. Darius and the gnawers looked over to him as he moaned slightly and slipped unconscious again.

"It's radical thinking," Lapblood sighed, "but I'll help. Sixclaw, get the supplies."

Sixclaw left the cave and returned with a small bag no larger than Darius's that looked more like a wineskin. Lapblood drew it open, pulled out a roll of bandages, and clumsily wrapped it around Gregor's hand with the two scars. The human tossed and turned uncomfortably, and then shot up into a sitting position.

"Wuh…what?" His head turned around frantically.

"Easy." Lapblood settled him down. "Don't speak. The stingers are in the cavern next to us."

"Should we tell him so?" Darius asked. Gregor's head turned towards the bat, who slunk back. Maybe Gregor was mad at _him._

"He understands," Lapblood said. "Gregor, point to where you are hurt for me."

Gregor lifted his hand tentatively, and then pointed to a spot on his lower left back. He was wheezing, Darius noticed, and even moving his arm to gesture back there made him gasp in pain.

Lapblood shuffled around her wineskin and came out with a small bottle. Gregor sensed its presence (it was rumored that he could echolocate) and glowered. Lapblood ignored it. "Flier, let the Overlander lean against your wings. Keep him steady." Flyfur helped Gregor off the ground and Darius stretched his wing so that the Overlander could hold it. Gregor ended up looking over Darius's shoulder, and Lapblood went behind to face the human. She opened the bottle with her teeth and thrust it with two paws under Gregor's nose.

"Breathe this, Gregor," She said. Gregor gripped Darius's wing with his fist and began to breathe in. His chest shook abnormally, almost imploding. Darius could half feel some of Gregor's ribs move out of his chest. Gregor exhaled, and then breathed in more with soft-spoken encouragement from Lapblood and an extra-hard grip on Darius's wing. This went on for a few minutes; from Gregor's twitching and stifled moans, he must have been in real agony. Darius's wing was almost numb from the boy's grip. Then finally, miraculously, two of Gregor's ribs erupted from his chest, and the human slumped limply onto Darius's body.

"Lay him down," Lapblood said while trying to cap the bitter-smelling elixir in the bottle that made Gregor struggle not to scream. "Howard, when we were dividing supplies, told me that someone in our group had this injury before and might have a relapse. I didn't know it would be you."

"L-Lapblood?" Gregor croaked.

Lapblood made a "shh" sound. "Me and my pups. Are you hungry?"

"Luxa?" Gregor asked.

"She has escaped," Darius said quietly.

"Ripred?" Gregor persisted. Darius thought that deep down, Gregor knew what had happened. He just didn't want to believe it.

"Ripred is dead," Darius said for the third time. "I am sorry."

Gregor squeezed his eyes shut and heaved a shaking breath. It looked like tears could be forming, but if so, he pushed them back. "You," He said to Darius. "I saw you. You were…"

"I was at the 'negotiations'." Darius nodded grimly.

"You stood up for A-Adrian. But you sat with Locklunge."

"I did."

"Enough," Lapblood said. "You must rest. Go back to sleep. We'll wake you up for food later. You too, Flyfur, Sixclaw." Her pups grumbled and curled up together. Lapblood lay next to them, and soon fell asleep. They all twitched, but Lapblood in particular proved herself restless. Mutterings of "Mange" and "Ripred" escaped her at least five times, within an hour. Once, she found herself meters away from her pups and dashed back to them like lightning.

Darius stayed up, watching them for a few hours. The day's events played themselves in an endless loop inside his head. He couldn't even muster up thoughts for it now; the blood and the claws and the screeches took everything up.

Finally, when his head could no longer support itself, Darius figured that it would be better to endure nightmares than to be too exhausted to fly when everyone moved on. Besides, he had initially brought Gregor and was pooling his supplies with the gnawers. He may as well have earned the right to sleep here. He was about to pick a spot against the wall to sleep near.

"Wait," Gregor whispered and tried to sit up. He was so alert that Darius almost jumped up in shock, then put a wing on his chest to force him back down.

Gregor lied down, but didn't rest again. He looked into the flier's eyes, or where they ought to be. "You're…Darius?"

Darius was taken aback. He didn't fancy himself anywhere near as famous as Gregor or Adrian. "How did you…?"

"Adrian talked about you," Gregor said. When Darius didn't respond, the Overlander's eyes fluttered shut and he fell asleep, breathing easily.

Darius spent the night wondering about Adrian- how she was handling, what she was thinking, what she had said about him exactly. Maybe his need for answers was what prompted him to volunteer to carry Gregor when Lapblood woke them so they could follow the camp. The gnawers and Adrian would be anywhere from a wall to a mile away, so perhaps they could speak quietly and not be heard.

Midway through the day, Gregor woke and stretched on Darius's back before he realized he was in the air. "You are alright," Darius said quietly.

"Where are we?" Gregor peered over his side and clicked to see Lapblood and her pups scurrying and stopping, hiding and scurrying, in complete silence. They had been doing this all day, and Darius often had to fly in circles in order to wait for them. It was better than getting ahead and being caught, he supposed. He had been considering exactly that, though, if only to know what was going on.

Darius gave Gregor a very brief rundown of the situation.

"They have Boots?" Gregor growled.

"They need her to control the stingers."

"What about Lizzie?"

"I delivered her to Queen Luxa. She is unwell, after seeing what has happened, but I feel the queen will take care of her."

"You…you delivered her? I thought you were with the rats."

"It looks that way, does it not?" Darius chuckled dryly. "I wonder, then, what I am doing with you if I am not giving you to the gnawers as a hostage."

"Sorry," Gregor said. "I was just wondering."

"As am I," Darius sighed. "I did not mean to be cruel. But I never liked the gnawers. When your sisters were taken hostage, I spent more time with them than I did with Locklunge."

"Were they okay?" Gregor asked. Lapblood sent a signal from below for them to quiet down.

"They were scared, mostly," Darius said quietly. "They wanted you, Ripred, a crawler, and a few other people to come get them. The only things I could help with were Lizzie's shivers and Boots' appetite."

Gregor paused. "Well, thanks."

"It is nothing. My family often finds itself helping others."

"What do you mean?"

"For one thing my father, Hermes, was the one to take Lizzie to the Underland. He lost his life from injuries he got while protecting her. And then Hestia and I stumbled into the jungle and made it our duty to watch over Adrian."

"Right. She said you taught her everything she knew. What's that all about? I thought she only trusted rats." Gregor's tone rose, like Locklunge when he was agitated.

"Not at first. She trusted Aurora and the nibblers, and perhaps even Queen Luxa when she was not yelling at her for trying to drink from Aurora. But when the queen sent Adrian with some nibblers to be taught to eat properly, and one of the nibblers carried a knife that Locklunge said was to kill her…she did not like humans after that. I do not think she really started hating until she saw the war and her father's death, though. She stole me as her guide, and we watched so much senseless killing, and as you were dying, the shiners mocked her as a heartless beast known as the blood-drinker. Locklunge took that trauma and grief and used it to make her hate everyone but the gnawers, because no one but the gnawers would let her drink blood. No one would understand."

"He had a point," Gregor grumbled. "She drained Ripred like an animal. And Ripred never did anything wrong to her!"

"If you were a starving man, would you kill a soldier of yours and eat him? It is barbaric, but it is the only way we know of that she can live. Locklunge has simply…not taught her restraint. Along with many other things. My mother, Hestia, and I made it a point to have her trust us, if only to keep the gnawers' teaching from driving her completely mad."

"But she still killed Ripred, and made everyone think she killed me," Gregor objected. "And she's with the rats now, trying to lead the stingers without me."

"She is confused!" Darius hissed, exasperated. "She is not evil, no matter what you think. I have seen her do good."

"Like what?"

"…When Hermes died, Hestia panicked. She took me when I was a few months old, and tried to fly to the fliers' lands, but she was attacked by gnawers. Her injuries made her collapse outside the jungle, and the gnawers stole her and took her to Adrian as a meal. But-" Darius almost smiled "-Adrian could not eat her. Not a fellow flier, not even if it did not have a golden coat like Aurora had. And when Locklunge was about to separate me from my mother and leave me to the jungle, Adrian made up an excuse for us to live with her, under the gnawers' care. She saved our lives."

Gregor paused. "She never tried to drink from you? Ever?"

"Not once."

"So, what, do you have some sort of shield? Or a threat or something?"

Darius shook his head. "I think if you can understand her, she will not try to do anything bad to you. She has only had Hestia, Aurora, and the gnawers to understand _and_ accept her, so such people are valuable beyond belief to her."

"But now…"

"But now Hestia and Aurora are far away, and the gnawers are using her as a puppet. And I- I want to kill her and rescue her at the same time. With you thought dead, Queen Luxa will surely attack, and Locklunge will tell Adrian to use her follows and fight back. She will, too, because she hates Queen Luxa and trusts Locklunge. Adrian speaks so much like her mentor that I find myself thinking of her as the leader of this war. She is not, though. She is…well, she is alone. She is alone now, just a pup like me, caught up in Sandwich's world."

Gregor was silent after Darius said this. They flew for half an hour while thoughts of Adrian chased each other in Darius's head. Adrian smiling, telling stories, training, planning, grieving for Ares. He considered it a good day if he could get her to smile; wasn't _that_ sad. It wasn't that she had saved his life. He actually liked her. He had known her for most of his life as his friend. But to see her get into so much trouble and watch most everyone shun or hate her…it was just _wrong._

Perhaps Gregor thought that too. When they landed to eat their one meal (there was hardly enough supplies to last them to Regalia as it was), Gregor sat next to Darius, though Lapblood and her pups stayed as far away from him as possible. Looks darted between Darius and each of the gnawers, as both Flyfur and Sixclaw tried not to stare at the lone flier. Even Lapblood averted her gaze whenever Darius so much as moved.

"Lapblood," Gregor whispered, "can I have some water?"

"Come here," She responded and reached for the wineskin.

"Why?" Gregor asked casually. "You can move." When she didn't budge, Gregor's eyes narrowed. "That's what I thought. You don't want to get too close to Darius."

"He's with the gnawers," Sixclaw said, as if he could contain it no longer. "And I heard rumors he's close to the blood-drinker."

"That doesn't mean he'll bite." Gregor scowled. "And the blood-drinker was nice enough to you."

Darius felt his face flushing as the gnawers looked over to him. Gregor continued eating like nothing had happened, and eventually, so did everyone else. But when it was time to sleep, the gnawers inched a little closer to Darius.

He never thanked Gregor, because he could sense Gregor didn't want- or need- any thanks. Instead, when Gregor woke up about partway through the next day (Lapblood said he would sleep often to recover), Darius asked about the Overland. He'd always wondered about a "sky" (a messenger flier's dream) since the one time his father told him about it, and found himself wishing he could visit one when Gregor described- in whispers- things called "clouds" and "sun". The sun sounded like something Sandwich would make up- if there was a giant orb of fire hanging about the Overland, how did it stay there and not burn anybody?- but Gregor's words made it seem almost tangible. Darius noted that a sun would turn Hades Hall into another jungle, which made Gregor chuckle.

Darius found himself liking Gregor. He didn't seem to take sides like other humans, but liked to listen to better understand the world he was in. And he didn't think himself superior to anyone, just acted like an equal that Darius could be with. They spent two or three days together, and on the last night, Gregor even slept next to Darius.

Of course, the mission came back into focus when Darius accidentally peeked into the next cave entrance and saw the blocked entrance of the Swag. He circled around and landed in front of Lapblood. Gregor dismounted.

"The stingers are trying to break through the rocks at the Swag," Gregor breathed. "I think they could get through."

"Alright, we'll take a rest," Lapblood said. She and her pups sat down, and Gregor and Darius looked at each other in an expression that said, "That's all?"

"Uh…can me and Darius let you know when they break open the wall?" Gregor asked. Lapblood inclined her head, and they were off before she could change her mind.

"What do you really want to do?" Darius asked.

"I need to see Boots. I've been thinking about her and Lizzie ever since I heard everyone thought I was dead."

"What about your parents? Or Luxa?" Darius had taken to Gregor's habit of thinking of the queen without her title.

"Well, them too. But I'll make sure I see them soon. Boots is being held captive now, though, and I need to know she's okay."

"It makes sense." Darius nodded and coasted down to a place where they could peek down and overhear the army. "Just stay hidden."

"We can check up on Adrian, too," Gregor whispered. Darius's heart jolted. But they could hear each other no more, because the "thwack" noise the stingers were making drowned out anything else. They were trying to break the rock wall away with their tails, and some were throwing their whole bodies against it. Some simply watched for lack of space; there were a little more than thirty stingers total. Locklunge, Adrian, and three of the other gnawers were overseeing the battering. The gnawers were shouting taunts, insults, encouragement- whatever got results.

But not Adrian, Darius noted. Not Adrian, she could not care less. She saw what was happening, but her mind was in an entirely different place. She had the "Ares" face on, the one full of a mixture of grief and love.

"Princess!" Locklunge called to the back of the cave. "Oh princess, come over here and translate this!"

"No!" An indignant, shrill voice responded. Boots was on the other side of the wall that Gregor and Darius were listening against, just beneath their perch. Boots huddled miserably between the crawler and the Halflander whose names Darius had learned were Temp and Hazard. Hazard rubbed Boots' arm and clicked something to her.

"You heard Locklunge," The gnawer who was watching over them sneered. "Get up there and click what he tells you to."

"No." Boots shook her head, bouncing her limp curls. "I want Mama!"

The stingers whacked a decent-sized hole in the wall, and every gnawer but Locklunge cheered. The leader himself, though, scurried over to Boots in a blur and towered over her. Darius's echolocation didn't work very well when his waves kept bouncing off stone, but he could tell Locklunge probably looked furious.

"You want Mama?" His tone was casual, but with its usual lethal touch. Boots mistook this as a question.

"Mhm," She sniffed. "An' Dada and Gregor-"

"Ha!" Locklunge's cynical laugh echoed. He leaned closer to Boots, then without warning yanked her off the ground, swung her on his back, and carried her to the hole that the stingers had made. Adrian fluttered to join his side wordlessly.

"Look out there, pup." Locklunge pointed through the hole, to the darkness. "You don't see them, do you? Have you ever wondered why your family hasn't come to get you? They're under my control. I have them locked away somewhere you can't get them, and- HEY!"

Boots had begun whacking him in his gut with her small, pudgy fists. Locklunge walloped her once on the cheek, and she cried out in pain. Temp was at her side in an instant, nursing her while Locklunge finished his little speech.

"I can do whatever I want to your family. If you're good, I'll let you see them. But if you don't listen to me and do what I say, that slap will be nothing compared to what I'll do to them. I can be very mean, princess. Understand?"

Boots sniffed, rubbed her cheek, and nodded.

Gregor got up from the floor and was halfway to the side of the cave before Darius yanked him back. "They think you dead, Gregor," He hissed. "This is not a good time to come back to life!"

"He can't do this to her!" Gregor growled. But when Darius let go of him, he didn't struggle to jump off the ledge and into the cave. They sat against the wall once more, listening in and using echolocation to get a glimpse of the major movements going on behind the stone wall.

"You can start," Locklunge was saying to Boots, "by translating for the blood-drinker." He waved Adrian to take the spot in front of the hole. She cleared her throat, and then lifted her head and spoke in a voice with power that Darius didn't know she could have.

"Stingers, you have decided to follow my lead and fight for the gnawers suffering at the hands of the human menace." She paused. "Boots, please translate."

Boots sniffed again, then stood on Temp's back and emitted a sort of humming, clicking, and speaking sound all at once. It was her own mix of human, crawler, and what must be some stinger tongue that she'd learned. The stingers understood her more than they did Adrian.

Adrian continued, pausing every sentence for Boots to relay it. "You have chosen wisely. For ages, gnawers have been struggling to once more become the dominant species in the Underland. Before the humans arrived, we all lived in peace, with equal shares of food and land. There was no reason to fight. Do you want that safety and security again?" Some of the stingers hummed to each other.

"The humans say they want nothing but peace with you. This means that they want you to stay in Hades Hall, sitting in the gloom with shrinking populations of insects to hunt, while they gorge themselves behind their stone walls. When the war of the Bane ended, did you get a delegate? No. Since Queen Luxa pledged her peace, has she sent you any sort of message? No.

"If you stand beside the gnawers, we promise more than peace between us. We promise revenge, for you and for us, and for the trials and lies the humans have subjected us to. But we can only promise this if you will follow me alongside the gnawers. Now go forth, join our ranks, and we will have true peace at last!" When the speech was finished, the stingers were humming like an avalanche. Adrian, the gnawers, and the prisoners rode the stingers top-speed out of the hole.

Gregor and Darius turned around and leaned against the wall they were just listening against.

"…Locklunge did a good job," Gregor said.

"Too good," Darius muttered.

"You're sure this isn't Adrian?"

"Have you seen her speak like that without Locklunge's company?"

Gregor nodded in agreement. Another silent moment before he spoke again. "Luxa's going to kill her."

"Indeed she will."

"We should stop it."

"My thoughts exactly."

**Ooh, we're getting so close to the final battle...scary, huh? Feedback is always welcome!**


	25. iw Revenge is the Only Way

**Forgive me for the shortness of this chapter. However, this is so close to the good parts that I begin to wonder why it's not posted already- I'm so excited! Perhaps readers could leave lovely reviews like coyearth, Lady Corkboard, stephanie, and Kizanna the Underlander did? I would most definitely post the final battle then.**

**Chapter Twenty Five: in Which Revenge is the Only Way**

"The gnawer armies are gathering on the horizon, Queen Luxa," Lysander, the messenger flier, said.

Luxa turned around from one of the grander maps of the Underland. Her eyes were rimmed with dark circles, but her posture and tone were erect and alert. "How many?"

"At least another five hundred to the first two. We think more to be coming soon."

"What of our numbers?" Mareth came forward on his crutch. Luxa was secretly grateful for his presence; he had been in hiding ever since the failed escape with the digger tunnels, but he emerged from one of the food-houses when he heard that Luxa, Howard, Nike, and Lizzie had returned. The word was carefully kept from the gnawers, but most of the humans seemed to subtly mind the food-house that Luxa was currently living in. Luxa could sometimes see citizens slip past each other in the shadows at night- changing the guard.

"The citizens and soldiers are in better spirits ever since they heard of your arrival," Lysander reported to Luxa. "But they are also suspicious. They worry of what has happened to the other half of your party, particularly the Peacemaker, the rager, and the blood-drinker. And they are confused as to why the gnawers are thinning their guard in leaps and bounds. Nevertheless, if you provide answers, the entire city will fight to the death to protect you and Regalia."

"It may come to that," Tangent sighed from the corner. He was one of the first people to find Luxa and her friends, and had insisted on being one of the leaders to defend the city. "Tell me about the gnawers' lines. Has Queen Luxa predicted correctly?"

"We can only determine that the front lines are composed of gnawers, from where we stand. No flier is willing to go into the air and face the spinners, if not the few gnawers, upon landing. But we have seen some shapes that may be stingers."

"The stingers may not have followed the gnawers," Luxa said half-heartedly. "We left before they could determine that matter. The gnawers could be thinning their guard in order to make new soldiers to fight with the stingers."

"While I believe that to be the reason," Tangent said, "the gnawers did steal your best translators. And from the rumors I have heard of Locklunge, he will find a way to use those translators to persuade or force the stingers into loyalty."

"But why more gnawer soldiers?" Mareth asked. "Stingers are some of the most powerful creatures in the Underland, even if you do not consider their poison tails. The gnawers know we are half-starving as it is. Why would they need more soldiers along with the stingers? To break our defenses?"

"Perhaps they do not want to merely break down our defenses," Tangent said grimly. "With more soldiers, more people can be killed."

Luxa's eyes widened. "You cannot mean they want to…"

"Why not? They are at the perfect position to wipe Regalia off the map. They are well-fed and numerous, with strong allies," Tangent noted.

"Will we fight still?" Lysander asked. The group had almost forgotten he was there, reporting and waiting for orders.

Luxa ran a hand over her eyes. "I will _not _sit by to watch my people's slaughter. We will fight. As soon as we can, since the gnawers seem so eager."

"Luxa!" Mareth barked. "You cannot jump into a decision like this! Note you our starvation, our lack of weapons, the capture of many of our soldier-"

"Mareth, are you saying that you would rather we wait here, plotting, while the gnawers prepare to strike? Should we not prepare, regardless of our chances?" Luxa felt like she was spitting acid. "A futile resistance is better than none. The sooner we can assemble some sort of defense- no matter how poor it is- the greater chance we have to live."

"You do not know they will attack us first," Mareth warned. "They may be trying to intimidate us."

"By loosening all of their restrictions?" Luxa shook her head. "The blood-drinker is surely one of those leading the gnawer resistance. And if I know the blood-drinker, and if she has done what I think she has, she will be preparing to charge. She hates humans, and wants us dead. I think this is her plan, to drive us to extinction. I would not put it past her. Someone who drinks from those she loves can surely think of this."

Luxa had a flash of memory- watching the blood-drinker dislocate Aurora's wing. She ran her hand down the scar along the side of her face, subconsciously. Right now, Aurora was missing. Luxa was praying that the blood-drinker was not part of this disappearance, but then stopped. She couldn't think of this now. No matter how much she yearned for Aurora to be here.

"Lysander, gather as many leaders as you can and bring them to this food-house. Bring whoever can spread the word to the rest of the creatures here. I wish to submit a theory and assemble our defenses." Lysander nodded to Luxa's request and walked as best he could out the door and into the streets. He was a good flier, to guide Luxa and her remaining company to the hole in the net that Aurora had found. He had filled them in on Regalia's condition, relocated them to the food-house, and stolen her maps and Howard's medical supplies from the palace (the only place where gnawer guard remained strong- no dungeon rescues). But Lysander could not fly and live to tell of it, so he had to trudge the streets. It was good, at least, that he was faithful to Luxa.

"I want to see Howard," Luxa said. Mareth and Tangent nodded, and Luxa climbed the stairs to the single room above them. When she brushed aside the cloth door, she saw Lizzie nodding off to sleep in Nike's wings. Howard got up from their sides and met Luxa at the doorway.

"It was very difficult to speak to her without evoking some very powerful emotions. I think some sleep will do her well." Howard slipped a small bottle into his bag as he spoke. He put his hand on Luxa's shoulder, almost as if he was unsure of whether or not to hug her. "But I think, from what I can understand, that our worst fear has come true. They are dead."

Luxa felt like she'd suffered a blow to the stomach. Her breath would not escape her. "…Gregor?"

Howard nodded. "Gregor."

Luxa simply stood there for a moment as the words sunk in. Gregor, dead. Gone. A memory played in her mind endlessly: when Gregor was about to turn from her to go to "negotiations". When she'd mouthed "I love you" to him before his eyes left hers, she'd done it because she had finally found the words she'd wanted to say the night before, when he had slept with his arms around her. If Luxa had had any idea that that would be her last words to him…

Luxa was in Howard's arms before she could compose herself, and, safe with him for a moment, she let out a great gasping sound. Tears slipped out so fast that she couldn't even try to stop them, and Howard's shirt became a sponge. Gregor, who she'd lost so many times- who she'd rarely had a moment alone with- who looked past her status to see her. They wouldn't go through anything together anymore. It was only her.

Howard rubbed her back, and she shook her head and pulled away. Howard hadn't wanted them together. He rarely let them be anything more than travel companions ever since he discovered their feelings for each other. "How could you miss him?" Luxa's voice broke. He hadn't had such feelings for Gregor. He couldn't sympathize.

"He was a good man, Luxa. Ripred too," Howard said solemnly. "All of our lives were changed because of them."

Luxa wiped her eyes. He had a point, but she couldn't admit it. Her head felt as if it could explode from memories of Gregor, and her mouth couldn't register anything to do with her grief. If she did speak about it, she might cave in altogether. Gregor was gone. Aurora was gone. Ripred was gone. And it was all because of one deranged flier pup.

Luxa sat in the stairway, willing her eyes to clear and her mind to focus on the issue at hand. Howard and Nike tried to rouse her, but when she didn't budge, they began to focus on Lizzie, studying her for injuries, trauma, and depression. The check-up went on while soft thudding noises rumbled the room upstairs. When the noises were loudest and voices could be heard, Tangent peeked his head up the stairs and spoke to Luxa.

"They are here."

"Who came?" Luxa got up and came down the stairs. About twenty humans, five nibblers, and two fliers were milling around the small room with the maps.

"Lysander gathered the local leaders of as many areas as he could reach," Tangent whispered in her ear. Everyone hushed as they saw Luxa looking over them. "They will be sure to spread word of your plan. Whatever it is."

"Perfect," Luxa muttered. She glanced to Mareth, who closed his eyes in surrender as he rested in the corner. It was her show now.

"My friends," She announced, "the gnawers are upon us. Those who formerly guarded us are now being called out of our city to wait at our walls. I know who is making this plan, and I assure you that if we wait any longer, she will send her army and put us at her mercy. The blood-drinker is ready. We must strike first, to save ourselves and our home in the Underland." As Luxa spoke, she made her way through the crowd until she was standing in front of her map of Regalia. There were colored pins arranged by Mareth that showed where the gnawers and the major groups of humans were. Luxa turned around and faced her audience.

"This is how we will do it."

**Again: reviews, please? Even wagers as to what will happen (a reference to the Prophecy of Trap would impress me very much) would greatly entertain and awe me.**


	26. iw the Battle Begins

**Wow... I mean to say...wow. Seven reviews? Within a day of the post, no less...I am so flattered! So, with greatest thanks to coyearth, Darkrider013, Lady Corkboard, stephanie, Sparky123, and Kizanna the Underlander, the final battle will be posted tonight. I hope I'm able to impress you, after your brilliant words.**

**Chapter Twenty Six: in Which the Battle Begins**

Adrian thought this had a very bad set-up.

She was cloaked in a sort of flexible armor that the spinners had woven for her. The spinners didn't know how to cover her wings, but they compressed her torso with a thick, lightweight material that itched when she moved in certain positions. Locklunge had said that it would protect her from indirect blows and long-range weapons. At least, he had threatened the spinners that it better.

Did she really need such protection? She was almost afraid to ask Locklunge what it was like to be in a battle. Ever since she killed Gregor and Ripred, Locklunge had been talking to her nonstop about battle plans, the humans' type of warfare, and how to fight and protect herself. Adrian had hardly paid attention, and the gnawer was losing patience.

She couldn't help not paying attention. A battle of her own had been raging inside of her. It wasn't okay that she'd killed; killing was the only way for her to survive. Darius had been right to leave, since he hated the gnawers; Darius had said they were friends, and then he'd deserted her. Gregor was a friend of Luxa, and therefore bad news; but then again, Gregor had said he liked Adrian. She didn't know what or who to believe. She owed so much to Locklunge, who was only trying to keep her alive after all. But she trusted Darius, who was trying to discredit Locklunge. Her heart ached.

"I do not know what to do," She thought. And though she wished for anything else, a second thought always trickled into her head after that. "And no one can help me." Everyone she looked to was either dead or gone. Besides Locklunge, who was currently pressing his snout into her side.

"It'll be soon," He said in a rumbling voice. "Queen Luxa is gathering her armies. The fliers are stretching their wings, and may be preparing to attack the net."

"Put more spinners there," Adrian suggested.

Locklunge shook his head. "They will overpower them."

"They will if we take away our guard," Adrian said quietly.

"This is only to add protection to you and the stingers. If there are many of us here, it will look like we are more powerful." Locklunge turned to survey the camp of gnawers resting and eating alongside stingers. Regalia was just barely in the distance, and a line of gnawers trailed from the stone walls; they were guardians, ordered by Locklunge to leave the city. Only the castle remained under their complete control.

"What of the stingers?"

"The stingers cannot be seen from the Regalian walls. They are our surprise, and will crush the Regalian resistance when you give the word."

Adrian stared ahead and nodded. He had gotten into his favorite topics: protection. Resistance. Victory. And nothing else.

"Locklunge?" Slipshade climbed onto the towering rock that Adrian and Locklunge were camping at to watch over the troops and the city walls. "The stingers are getting restless. They expected a battle the minute they arrived."

"One day more," Locklunge snapped. "Queen Luxa will attack us by then."

"Are you sure?" Slipshade raised an eyebrow. "I'd be happy to tell this to my own clan. We happen to agree with the stingers."

"I will see to this. But tell your clan to be ready for battle soon. It will come. Watch," Locklunge said in a tone that dismissed Slipshade. Adrian turned back to Regalia and studied it. It looked small and deserted; even if she could see behind those walls, she doubted anyone would be alive back there.

That thought depressed her even more.

"You haven't been yourself," Locklunge said. "Are you alright?" And by that he meant, "Have the humans been cruel to you?" Finally, Locklunge resembled the caretaker that he had been when Adrian was first in his company. Maybe Silversnap's death had changed him into the warlord he'd been lately.

Adrian sighed. Just another caretaker she had lost. "I am as fine as I was when we started this."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you were scared. You've only seen one battle, and you can hardly train for another." Locklunge cocked his head at her.

"I am fine," Adrian said uncertainly. After days of Locklunge commanding and drilling, this change was abnormal…but sort of welcome. "Locklunge?"

"Yes?"

"The gnawers have not found my mother. Have they?"

Locklunge tapped his tooth and looked out to Regalia. "Not a glimpse or a word. But you know, Adrian, this is like how she disappeared two years ago. They found her in the dungeons."

Adrian's heart sank. Of course. Of course Luxa would hide Aurora, where even the gnawers couldn't find her. Luxa was hell-bent on keeping Adrian from her mother.

"Look." Locklunge gestured with a paw to the walls of Regalia. Torches were being lit, first a few at a time, then all at once. With their light, Adrian could make out black blobs rising into the air, twenty at a time. Fliers. They landed evenly-spread on the net surrounding the city, and after a few moments, some of the string-like parts of the net began to come loose and fall to the ground. Silently, spinners crept down to defend their work, but either the fliers cut down the thread that the spinners were climbing, or something attacked the spinner when it got near enough to the flier. Probably human riders.

"I told you," Locklunge said softly. Then, roaring across the camp: "Pack up! The Regalians are rebelling. The battle is at hand!"

Locklunge leaped off his pedestal, shouting orders to Slipshade, Flex, Flametooth, and any other gnawer he saw. Adrian nimbly leaped off the rock and stood beneath its cool darkness for a moment as she watch the camp burst into a sudden mix of chaos and organization. Someone tugged at the fur on her back.

"Bat?" It was Boots, with Temp and Hazard hiding underneath the rock that she and Locklunge had just been perched on. "What's going on?" Boots asked with large eyes and a brow twisted in worry.

"…I believe we are to go out and meet the humans." Adrian tried to speak in a way that wouldn't hurt the princess.

But maybe it was a little too gentle, because Boots gasped in excitement and turned to her friends. "Temp, Hazard, we gonna see Luxa! And Dulcie and big rat-"

"No." Adrian shook her head. "Locklunge will not let you see them. He wants you to speak to the stingers still."

Boots' face fell, but Adrian was spared hurting the girl further because Thrust came forward. "Oh, you found them. Come, you." Thrust yanked Boots from beneath the rock, knowing that Hazard and Temp would loyally venture out to follow. "The spinners need to suit you for armor. Adrian, Locklunge is calling for you," Thrust said.

Adrian nodded and shuffled in the direction she had seen Locklunge go in. Now she could think of plenty of things she could say to Boots to make her feel better. All Adrian had to do was tell Boots something that she herself wanted to hear. Like "your mother loves you" or "your father is alive".

"Drink this." Locklunge jabbed Adrian towards a nibbler carcass when she found him. "Some gnawers killed it on the way here and wanted to make it a gift to you." He nodded to a small trio of gnawers who appeared to be staying to be spectators. Adrian ignored them and bit into the carcass, draining it of blood quickly. She tried not to compare the nibbler to Ripred.

"Alright," Locklunge said when she was done and the gnawer witnesses had left. "I want the both of us to be leading the charge after I have the princess tell the stingers a message. You have enough strength to carry me?" Adrian nodded. "Good. Feel free to drink from a few carcasses on the battlefield if it keeps you alive. There'll be plenty."

Thrust came huffing and puffing with Boots on his back, sobbing. "You bring back Temp and Hazard!" She screeched, kicking the gnawer's sides. "You get them back!"

"You'll see them soon enough!" Thrust snapped and spoke to Locklunge. "We're to return her to her friends and the prisoners when she first sends the stingers off, right?"

"Right."

"Perfect. We're ready."

"Go ahead." Locklunge nodded, and Thrust sped off to a vacant space at the front lines. Adrian paused and glanced back to Regalia to compare the gargantuan army of thousands with their resistance. The fliers took trips, back and forth, and dropping off soldiers of varying sizes. About five hundred creatures (she guessed they were humans and nibblers) assembled at the front of the walls, and those numbers were growing vastly. More fliers arrived from a tunnel near the city as this was happening.

"Queen Athena must be sending reinforcement fliers." Locklunge sniffed. "The stingers will make quick work of that. More are arriving as we speak, from other corners of Hades Hall."

"What of the humans?" Adrian said. "I have seen swords, and you are trying to make armor that will protect me from long-range weapons. Do they have any more weapons to concern us?"

"Plenty. You'll see," Locklunge said as they followed Thrust to the vacant spot at the front lines. "Now, go up there and try to look confident. Remember, everybody here loves you. Tell them what they want to hear."

Locklunge nudged Adrian to the clearing where Thrust and Boots were, and followed her as she walked up. The thousands of gnawers and dozens of stingers cheered deafeningly, in whoops, cat-calls, or hums. Adrian studied their gleaming eyes and towering figures (not to mention their sharpened claws, teeth, pincers, and tail points) and feigned a smile with her head high.

"It is now," She said in her strongest voice. It was pretty impressive, what with her not being a full-grown flier. "This is the time that our descendents will look on as the time of revolution. The end of the humans' tyranny is here!" The gnawers let loose a hearty howl at that.

"Are you ready, my troops?" Adrian inquired. "With your courage and will, we will win this battle and suffer no more at the hands of the humans. Every creature in the Underland will prosper if you will fight today."

"The princess," Locklunge breathed in her ear. "Tell her to give your order to the stingers."

Adrian doubted it was her order. But she turned to Boots anyways.

"Princess," She said loud enough for the gnawers to hear. "Tell the stingers…tell them to leave no human, and no ally of theirs, alive."

Boots looked at Adrian with tears trailing down her cheeks. "But bat, I don't-"

"Think of your family," Locklunge hissed.

Boots paused. She wriggled off of Thrust's back, and with a final gasping sob, she spoke in her alien mix of stinger, crawler, and human. The stingers straightened at this command from the princess.

Just then, a powerful roar resounded from behind Adrian. She turned and saw a row of humans, nibblers, and fliers rocketing straight for their lines. The ground trembled beneath their horrible battle cry.

"_GO!_" Locklunge roared, and the gnawers and stingers charged.

While Thrust darted off with a weeping Boots, Locklunge vaulted onto Adrian's back. They took off, and Adrian found herself facing a front line of twenty fliers and their human bonds wielding torches and glinting swords. She closed her eyes, though her echolocation provided her with an awful view of their beastly faces. So this was the enemy.

Adrian swerved underneath the fliers at the last second, where Locklunge could pierce the fliers' underbellies and the gnawers beneath could shield Adrian from ground attacks. A few fliers made pinpoint turns and chased Adrian, who swooped higher. It was her goal to stay away from the humans, but stay close enough that Locklunge could target them.

And target them he did. Because of him, limbs severed, wings tore, heads went rolling. Before they were through with the front line, Adrian's armor was splattered with drops of blood. She couldn't lick it with her frantic movements, and she wouldn't anyways. Her appetite was dulled for the moment.

Battle is a synonym for panic, Adrian soon realized. Of the few glimpses around that she could get, most made her stomach churn. The stingers snapped bones, necks, bodies in half with their pincers while their tails flailed, injecting poison into anything that moved. Humans were literally mowing down gnawers and dissecting them on the dirt. Fliers dropped down from the air to tear chunks out of their enemies. And somewhere in the chaos, the diggers arrived and riddled the ground with craters to trap any humans or nibblers that fell.

Adrian had enough trouble paying attention to details like that, though, when she was so often locked in combat in the air. As the only flier-and-gnawer team in the air, it was obvious that she and Locklunge were enemies. Leaders, at that. So Adrian had to summon her memories and recall each move that Locklunge shouted out in a nanosecond. Once, she lost Locklunge in a barrel roll and suffered some punctures to her armor and skin before she picked up the leading gnawer again.

"They summoned _crawlers_!" Locklunge moaned when they were in the air again. Adrian looked down. A sea of glistening black shells flooded in from the same tunnel that Queen Athena's fliers had come from. The gnawers easily pounced on a few, and the stingers could preoccupy more still, but so many were present that they gradually overcame their enemies.

"They think their princess is in danger," Adrian thought.

"This is bad," Locklunge growled. "Eagle's view." Adrian followed the command and swooped as high to the ceiling of the cave as she could without touching it. "Do you see Queen Luxa?"

Adrian squinted in the dim light. "On the wall." The queen simply stood, watching the armies with her arms folded, not even bothering to do battle. Adrian's eyes narrowed.

"Down to Flametooth first, and then we meet with her majesty," Locklunge sneered. Adrian nodded and flew down through a blanket of fliers to skim over the top of the battle on the ground.

Locklunge found his aid, Flametooth, caught between two crawlers and a nibbler. Adrian grabbed one of the crawlers with her claw and tossed it into another battle. Locklunge shouted to Flametooth, "_Now_, to the wall!" and signaled for Adrian to depart.

"You want Flametooth at the wall?" Adrian called to Locklunge. He ignored her, and they flew another few yards before Adrian careened to the stone wall that Luxa stood on, waiting.

"I wondered when you would appear," Luxa said as Locklunge dismounted. She snapped her fingers, and Tangent came out of one of the nearby guard-houses, followed by Howard and Nike. Adrian bit her lip; it was now four to two.

"My pleasure, Queen Luxa," Locklunge said as if she had welcomed him. "Good to see you still allow the council to assign you guards."

"I am against Regalia's two most dangerous enemies," Luxa said coolly, turned to Adrian, and nodded. "Blood-drinker."

"Where is my mother?" Adrian hissed. Luxa's glare tore holes into her, and the memories that came with that glare set her into a blaze of anger. That proved it: Luxa had Aurora.

"Where are Gregor and Ripred?" Luxa answered and unsheathed her sword. Locklunge had just enough time to leap for the queen before she could strike Adrian with the deadly silver.

Howard jumped on Nike and attempted to strike at Locklunge from behind, but the gnawer ducked and rolled next to Adrian. He climbed onto her back and she tried to take off, but after some frantic flapping, they weren't going anywhere.

Luxa barked a deranged laugh. "Too weak, blood-drinker? I knew you were a pup!"

Locklunge ran to shred Luxa. "Take the bonds!" He called over his shoulder. "Feed!"

And that was the magic word, because Adrian's eyes flashed red. Howard and Nike's motive immediately changed from "attack" to "defend" as Adrian darted after them in the air. Tangent tried to get a swipe at her, but was preoccupied trying to deflect Locklunge's blows. Adrian managed to chase Nike straight into a stone guard post, where she crashed and dropped Howard. The man rolled a few feet away and stopped at Adrian's feet. She bent over to pierce his neck with her teeth.

"No!" Nike and Luxa both shouted. Nike threw herself on top of Howard, and Luxa swung her sword in a wide arc that Adrian ducked beneath. Locklunge and Tangent were stuck in a duel by themselves, circling each other and leaping in sporadically for the kill.

Adrian was left to herself, and retreated from the wall in a burst of panic. The looks on their faces, those malicious and loathing looks… And Luxa was following her on Nike! Adrian's heart lurched when she saw them on her tail, and she dove as low as she could to the battlefield. She saw a wounded gnawer, set her feet on the ground, sipped from one of the gashes, and took off as soon as she had landed. Just the mouthful of blood cleared her head. She shouldn't be fleeing. There was only one problem: she didn't want to die the minute she turned around.

Locklunge had been right, the humans and their allies _did_ want Adrian dead. But he hadn't taught her for nothing. So Adrian turned around and did her best to circle back for the wall. Howard had broken some sort of bone and kept gasping whenever he tried to get up. But with Tangent bleeding more heavily than Locklunge in the duel, of course Howard tried to rise.

Locklunge took one look at Adrian's returning figure and found a surge of energy. He clawed Tangent heavily and tore off most of his ear as Adrian landed and turned to face Nike. Luxa jumped off of the black-and-white flier and did an intricate acrobat twist before landing in front of Adrian with her sword at the ready.

Adrian swung one wing at Luxa's legs, and while she stumbled for balance, the flier knocked Luxa on her back and sat on top of her. Luxa squirmed and twisted, but it was only when she jabbed Adrian's wing with one side of her sword that she got a chance to lock her legs around Adrian's body and roll. Adrian's back pounded against the stone floor; she could now see that Locklunge about to force the heavily-wounded Tangent over the edge of the wall. A sharp pain pierced her, and she looked into Luxa's loathing eyes as the human held her sword to Adrian's neck-

Until one cry changed everything.

**The next chapter will be up within twenty-four hours, I believe. I apologize, but I just can't update two chapters at once, not when there are so few left. Reviews, anyone?**


	27. iw the Final Choice is Made

**(*blushes*) Honestly, everyone, I am flattered to no end. Coyearth, Kizanna the Underlander, stephanie, Sparky123, Taylor, Alice Diana Brenner- thank you, everyone! I only wish I had better news with which to update. My two new reviewers and four older ones have excited me past the point of worrying. For now.**

**Chapter Twenty Seven: in Which the Final Choice is Made**

"_Stop!"_

The cry was so strong that it froze time on top of that wall. Luxa about to kill Adrian, Locklunge about to kill Tangent, Nike trying to tend to Howard- it stopped.

As the two people who had cried that word came into focus, both Adrian and Luxa's expressions changed to confusion and unabashed joy.

"Darius," Adrian breathed.

"Gregor!" Luxa choked out.

Darius soared above the battle and onto the wall, and the impossibly-alive Gregor slid onto the ground. He was bruised up and wheezed very slightly when he breathed, but the way he moved and spoke seemed very much like Gregor.

"You're not dead," Locklunge snarled and pointed to Gregor accusingly.

"So you meant to kill me, right?" Gregor scowled.

"You ought to be dead," Locklunge growled. "If you won't lead the stingers with the blood-drinker and bring me to victory, what use are you?"

"Do you see, Gregor?" Darius said. "This is what I was talking about."

"About what, flier?" Luxa growled. "You are one of _his_ fliers." She pointed to Locklunge in disgust.

Gregor stepped to her. "Luxa, if you listen to him-"

"No!" Luxa shook her head. "This is all wrong! Gregor is not alive, nor is he listening to those on the gnawers' side!" She turned to Howard, on his back still. "Is this trauma? A hallucination?"

"I think it real, cousin," Howard said softly.

Luxa looked away from Gregor. "Even if you do live, how dare you trust this treacherous flier who-" Her breath quickened "-who witnessed your murder and had nothing to do with Regalia for years?" Her heart pumped, surging with blood like it had when her sword had been at Adrian's neck. Luxa's fingers tightened around the sword once more, and the blade moved from Adrian's throat to another enemy.

"He is on no side of mine," Locklunge growled, "and now he will _pay!_"

Shaking the wall with a furious roar, Locklunge charged from Tangent with his claws outstretched- Luxa ran forward at the same time, shrieking for Darius's blood-

"_No!_" Gregor cried the word Adrian could not find, and thrust himself in front of Darius. Luxa's sword and Locklunge's claw clashed into an "x" directly in front of Gregor's chest. Only a heavy "cling", the echoes of the battle cry, and the sound of heartbeats resonated.

Knowing he had only milliseconds, Gregor felt for Darius's claw and uttered his next words in such a rush that it sounded as if only one was being spoken.

"_Darius the flier, I bond to you._"

"Gregor-"

"Let me," Gregor hissed to Darius. The flier nodded blankly, and Gregor turned to look into his eyes, avoiding the widened eyes that burned into them. Gregor completed the poem.

"_Our life and death are one, we two.  
In dark, in flame, in war, in strife,  
I save you as I save my life._"

Everyone looked at the pair incredulously. Adrian had heard about bonding from Darius, once, long ago. He'd said he probably wouldn't bond. But when Gregor told him, "Come on. Say it back," Darius seemed to actually be considering it. His eyes flickered across the crowd to Adrian before he spoke back.

"_Gregor the human, I bond to you.  
__Our life and death are one, we two.  
__In dark, in flame, in war, in strife,  
__I save you as I save my life._"

Gregor let go of Darius's claw, turned to Luxa, and breathed a sigh. "I trust Darius," He said. "A lot. Listen to him, please."

Luxa opened her mouth, and then closed it.

"Never!" Locklunge swung his claw around Luxa's sword and stabbed for Gregor this time. But a reddish-brown blur wrapped Locklunge up in his own arms, and forced him into a headlock before claw could meet skin once more. Tangent nodded to the group, while holding a struggling Locklunge.

"Go on."

Darius spoke when Luxa looked to him. "Locklunge has been raising Adrian on lies, so he could use her hate for you to wage war. He knew if he could inspire the right attitudes, she and her followers would be under his control." Darius glared to Locklunge. Adrian almost glared herself, but wasn't sure her heart was in it. Locklunge had been good to her. Right?

To everyone's surprise, Locklunge began to laugh, right there in Tangent's grip.

"Enough." Tangent frowned. But Locklunge's laugh was so hard, so loud that Tangent slackened his grip.

"Oh," Locklunge chuckled, "why did I know it would come down to the boy?"

"What?" Darius's glare deepened.

"It was a good plan, even by my standards," Locklunge said. "But the boy was smarter than most. So," he turned his head to Darius, "I assume you knew that I purposely set up the fight at the negotiations, so Adrian would smell blood?"

"Yes," Darius said. Adrian's eyes widened.

"And you knew that I could use her dislike of Queen Luxa as a way for her to want humans dead?" Locklunge went on. Darius nodded. Locklunge's face spread into a toothy, evil grin, and when he broke from Tangent's grip, no one could muster the will to restrain him.

He paced over to the edge of the stone wall and surveyed the battlefield. Bodies were piling up and being pushed out of the way to make room for the vigilant fighters still standing. Even the stingers were subject to weariness, however, and careless mistakes were being made. The diggers sprung out of the ground and abducted gnawers. Humans maimed crawlers. No one knew what to think anymore.

Adrian was trying to see what everyone else was looking at on the battlefield when Locklunge sprung at her, turned her to face the people on the wall, and thrust his claw against her neck. Adrian gasped. It was like suffocation.

"Then I suppose, _boy_," Locklunge spat to Darius, "you knew I had a back-up plan."

"What do you think you're doing?" Gregor tightened his hand around the handle of his sword until his knuckles were white. The two scars on the back of his hand- the ones that made an "x"- looked ready to burst.

"I'll tell you what." Locklunge grit his teeth, and then called in a voice so loud that some of the closer soldiers stopped to stare. "FLAMETOOTH!"

Nothing happened for a moment. But then a form stepped onto the wall from the elevator device that let creatures in the city. Flametooth was smiling. He gestured, and two more gnawers carried a bundle as large as them onto the wall. They set it down, and while the gnawers took fast, light steps to stand behind Howard and Nike on the floor, the bundle made unsteady hopping movements before it arrived and stood between the two gnawers. Its surface was richly golden, except for a band of white cloth that held its wings and mouth together. But as its eyes ran across the ground and settled on each of their faces in turn, Adrian realized that it wasn't an "it" at all.

"Aurora!" Luxa cried and tried to run forward to meet her bond. Tangent held her back and glanced to Locklunge, who was grinning crookedly. Luxa didn't see it, but struggled against the nibbler. "Aurora, are you alright? Did they kidnap you?"

"Of course they did!" Flametooth huffed. He was the only thing standing between Luxa and Aurora. "I take your bond from her lookout post, I take the princesses from the Seek, and still I'm not recognized."

"Do you see, Adrian?" Locklunge spoke in Adrian's ear and pressed his claw closer to her neck. She felt it, but could not help but stare at the golden flier. Her coat was more brilliant and her eyes were warmer than she remembered.

"You're a bright flier," Locklunge said. "You can recognize a good deal. And the consequences for not taking it."

Adrian didn't reply. Aurora was here, right here… Locklunge dug his claw into one of her arteries. Adrian hissed and squeezed her eyes shut. Tears sprung to her eyes. She'd never smelled her own blood before. And that, along with finding out that Locklunge had been the one to hide her mother from her…it _hurt_.

"Pay attention." Locklunge's tone was imperative and angry. "I could give you your mother. But I want to know how valuable her life is to you." He shoved her onto the ground, and when she fell on her stomach, he kicked at her to encourage her onto her feet. "Kill Queen Luxa first. Make her bond and her love interest watch."

"Then kill the rager." Flametooth smirked. "And maybe that nibbler, if he gives us any more trouble." The other gnawers snickered.

"After all, Adrian, you remember our study of the Prophecy of Trap," Locklunge said. "'**_Among the leads, two deaths impend._**' These are the deaths. Because Luxa will not make amends with you, Adrian. And if she will not die-" Locklunge grinned again "-you will."

When he saw her pause, he walked over to Luxa, slit her wrist, and held it out to Adrian.

The smell bowled her over, just like every other sensation she experienced right now. Battle had worn her to the point of hunger, and in any other situation, she would have drank. But she felt a new feeling for Locklunge and his use of her- hate. He had her in a trap. He knew she wanted Aurora. He knew she needed to drink. He also knew now that she would do anything but this now that she knew who was telling the truth.

Adrian didn't realize she was holding her breath until she found herself shaking. She held her head down, away from the prying eyes of those she loved, and those she was beginning to like.

"I am sorry," She whispered.

She pounced, eyes open so as not to miss. Luxa couldn't tear her eyes away from her death flying towards her. But it didn't hit. Adrian had landed on Locklunge's chest and wrapped her wings around his head. Locklunge screamed and let go of Luxa, shredding off almost all of Adrian's protective armor and revealing the gold stripe on her back as he tried to pry her off. He roared, rattling her bones with furious insults.

Adrian shimmied around his shoulders, ignoring the pain her scars caused her, and when she had a good grip, she used the surge of adrenaline from smelling blood to give his neck a good hard snap. Locklunge stopped moving immediately, and as his knees gave way, Adrian leaped off nimbly, hopped to the edge of the wall, and watched as Locklunge fell dead to her feet.

The exhilaration of triumph was short-lived. Adrian heard no sound in the next moment, but saw Flametooth's lips curl in a livid cry. He swept up Luxa's sword lying useless on the floor, and as the dust settled around Locklunge, Flametooth wielded the sword in both paws and thrust it into Adrian's gut. The force sent her staggering backward, and one lost foothold sent her toppling off the wall, breathless.

The last thing she remembered was the wind and blood chilling her fur.


	28. iw There is Death

**I didn't imagine I would have spare time on a Wednesday, but I ended up home sick. And after coyearth, Lady Corkboard, Kizanna the Underlander, and stephanie left such gracious (and entertaining) reviews, I cannot postpone much longer, can I?**

**Chapter Twenty Eight: in Which There Is Death**

She saw Ares.

It didn't start out that way. At first, she was falling, with a feeling of both physical and emotional emptiness inside her. A millisecond later she flew, with harsh currents giving her a chill. She couldn't fight the winds, nor see where they were coming from. Her muscles felt about to burst as they tried to simply keep her in the air. A horrible sense bowled her over. She was losing altitude. In one blink, her sight returned, and a valley of jagged boulders glinted maliciously beneath her. With one strong gust of wind, her breath was knocked out of her, and she tumbled towards the ground.

But a pair of strong claws clasped onto her, and then she was flying, with Ares soaring just over her. His ebony fur glistened, like he was glowing, and his muscled wings and body showed no scars. He looked so natural in the air, with wind ruffling his fur and his eyes focused on the distance. When he saw her, he smiled. She couldn't look away.

The next thing she knew, they had landed. Without preface, Ares's wings were wrapped around her. She hadn't felt so secure in an incredibly long time. It was everything she had imagined it to be; his scent, his warmth, the texture of his fur. She could somehow tell what he wasn't saying. He loved her, and had ever since he knew she existed.

It felt like a miracle.

Here, there was no darkness. There was nothing to hide, no secrets or misunderstandings. Maybe Ares could tell that if she could love, she would love him too. Maybe she was still a monster. But somehow, wrapped in Ares's wings, it was hard to believe. She _could_ love. And she did.

_"No!_"

No? What was no? She shook her head, trying to make sense of it. The voice sounded so ghostly, so far away...and yet she could feel its power, its passion... its fear. Ares smiled sadly at her, because he knew. She tried to speak, tried to ask what was going on-

And then she was in agony. Something was incredibly, terribly wrong with her- bleeding, iciness inside her, burning scars, and maybe even gaping holes in her body. Her senses were going haywire, and her mind couldn't register it through all the signals of pain it was receiving.

Voices. Hazy, incapable of being fully heard. The speakers overlapped each other, so nothing could sound familiar.

"Is she..."

"The other gnawers-"

"-blood-flow!"

"A spectacular swoop-"

"Must take her..."

"-stay here, I will take care..."

"-other injuries besides hers-"

"Are you well?"

"Can you do it?"

_"N__ow!"_

Hands groped at her. A warm surface pressed against her stomach- she was lying on her front- and air cut through her fur. As if she was flying, but she was not. Noises, drowned out by the speed at which she was travelling. She struggled to inhale; the scent, the surface on which she was lying on seemed familiar, even comforting. Her focus began to fade- her head lightened as she rose, rose...dipped...

_Thump._ Footsteps, in a stone hallway far from empty. Moans from people who sounded as tortured as she felt. Warmth against her stomach evaporated, to be replaced with many arms and hands carrying her on her back. She would squirm when the world stopped spiralling around her.

Darkness. Her eyes could not adjust to wherever she was. Warmth gave way to a smooth, cold rock surface. Cold, very cold. She could be trembling. The wounds etched into her back seared as they adjusted. Something pressed against- _into_- her gut. She couldn't do anything to stop the pain, only feel it.

More voices, hushed and rapid. Cold things, metal things prodding her everywhere. The area below her chest was on fire. Was she hungry? Was this an effect from the cold? And where was Ares?

A wing stroked her cheek and ran down to the tip of her wing, while another settled itself on her chest. Pain flared in her back. No matter. A single voice, crisp and clear: "Adrian?"

That was her. Her breath wavered as she tried to respond. She wanted to respond. That voice and those wings made her feel as good as Ares had made her feel. Safe. Loved.

Wings jerked away. More prodding at her. She wanted to protest. Where were the wings?

The voice cried out, startled. It seemed to be moving further away. "No, let me go, I must-"

Another voice, closer and muffled, muttered something about "operate". A bottle was held to Adrian's lips, and a bittersweet liquid with a sickly mineral taste flooded into her mouth. She moaned- her head turned into lead the moment she swallowed.

The voice again, distant and panicked. "Adrian!"

A surge of energy jolted through her at that voice. From the cry, she rememebered that someone cared about her, and whoever it was had been here. Another bottle jammed against her lips, and she tried to turn her head from it. She had to find the voice, had to know... The liquid trickled down her throat. Her insides froze over, and someone stuck something long and cold and sharp into her. This wasn't right. She wanted the voice that was being taken away from her, the voice that made it better...

Adrian found the strength to open her eyes and find the voice before she blacked out.

It was Darius.

**Forgive the length and the confusion, but the next chapter will have an explanation and another thing that Adrian has been waiting a long time for. That is, as long as people express interest...**


	29. iw Luxa Understands

**I apologize, everyone. I would have updated so much sooner than I am now, but it was homecoming week and I was preparing ridiculously for the dance. Not to mention that there are only a few more chapters left, so I wanted to make them last. And, well...I was writing a sequel to this. Would anyone want to read a sequel?**

**Anyways, as coyearth, Kizanna the Underlander, Lady Corkboard, stephanie, Sparky123, and Imagine have expressed their interest, I will be updating. I hope this is up to your standards!**

**Chapter Twenty Nine: in Which Luxa Understands**

When Adrian came back to consciousness, she felt like a herd of stingers had run over her. Echolocation came back first. The single torch in the corner of the room burned through her eyelids, and her head felt five times larger and heavier than it should have been. When she moaned, the sound reverberated throughout her entire body.

Something tapped her on the wing. "Can you drink?" The voice did not make her feel entirely safe. But it sounded like the person cared. Adrian would listen to a person like that. So she tried to open her mouth, and gradually worked it to a position where a cup could be placed at her lips.

Though the blood was cool, she felt warmer when she drank it. The pain did not disappear, but dulled, and after a minute Adrian could open her eyes.

The voice had belonged to a human, that she knew. But when she focused, she had to blink a few times to be sure she had it right.

"I know I am not the first person you would want to see." Luxa sighed and sat on the chair next to Adrian's bed (a bed!). "But we are taking shifts to watch you, and I have no obligations right now. Someone must be here to tell you that you are in the Regalian hospital."

Incredible. She was only in a small stone room with one wall made of glass. Perhaps the healing tools were somewhere else.

"It was an impressive show that occurred, after the gnawer stabbed you," Luxa went on. "Gregor and the flier he bonded to, Darius, leaped off of the wall and were about to fall to the ground along with you. But somehow the flier managed to catch Gregor and then cling to you with his talons. He flew both you and Gregor to the top of the wall again. By then, the gnawers had all but surrendered after realizing what you had done to Locklunge. Everyone on the wall stopped the humans, fliers, and nibblers as best we could while Darius took you to the hospital. I never expected that such a young flier could be so strong."

Adrian leaned back into her bed and thought. Darius, catching her. And carrying her by himself to the hospital. She was still alive because of him. Or…she was alive once more. Because she was certain that she had been dead before he called her name.

Her heart swelled. Darius saved her.

"And blood-drinker…ah…Adrian." Luxa looked away from Adrian's surprised gaze and played with her hands. This was the first time she had said Adrian's actual name in a long time. "While it is only you and I, by ourselves…I should apologize."

Adrian's eyebrows shot up. This was the one thing she least expected Luxa to say to anyone.

"I am no good at these," Luxa said, "but after what you have done for me, and after I heard your story from Gregor and Darius...I feel somewhat responsible for why you chose to listen to the gnawers. I did put you into a position where they could find you." She rubbed the back of her neck.

"You should know that I never intended to endanger your life. I remember what you mentioned about a knife, and I confess that in the jungle I gave a knife to one of the nibblers- Thagor, I think his name was. But it was not to kill you. I knew what dangers the jungle hid, and so I decided that, for both the nibbler's and Aurora's ease of mind, I would loan my knife to the nibblers so they could protect you from whatever may come. I can see now that, though it helped keep you safe from the twisters, it may have been unwise. The gnawers needed no such evidence.

"But did you see that I wanted to lend my knife for Aurora's ease of mind? My only goal was to preserve Aurora, and perhaps even keep her happy. Like you, I have lost many that I love. But perhaps you want her to live as much as I do. I- we love her, and she is part of what we both have left.

"I will not say that I was not afraid of you. I did not hate you, but to be honest, I was slightly frightened about what you would become. Even though you are my bond's daughter, you are also a blood-drinker. I knew it could turn out badly." Luxa looked up. "Do you understand?"

Adrian didn't want to try nodding. She cleared her throat. "I…I think I do," She whispered. "But y-you said you could not keep us apart for long."

"I did," Luxa sighed. "And I thought I would not. But then, even though we were afraid of your future, we never really knew what it was. I could never have anticipated what you did at the wall."

Adrian thought she really understood now. This was also a thank-you. For saving Luxa's life? Her friends? The kingdom? Whatever it was, this was as close to gratitude as Luxa was going to get.

"I apologize too," Adrian said. "For everything I have done."

No sooner had the words escaped her than a golden coat appeared in the glass wall, just a little bit and then all at once. Aurora went to stand in the hole in the glass that served as a doorway.

"Luxa," Aurora said in her low, quiet, heartwarmingly-familiar voice. "You promised that you would find me when she woke."

"I have found you now." Luxa got up from her chair and stretched. She turned to Adrian. "If you are thirsty, you have only to ask for more." She pointed to the empty cup on the floor. "We have many donors after a battle."

Adrian nodded, with the slightest of smiles on her face. Whoever knew that Luxa would be feeding her herself?

Luxa sensed the irony and half-grinned. "If you will excuse me, I need to go tell Gregor that I have paid my dues. Aurora," She acknowledged her bond before leaving.

Adrian and Aurora both shifted in their positions. Finally, Aurora spoke. "I wish I could come closer and speak with you. But I am almost afraid to."

"Why?" Adrian asked and looked away. Her voice had squeaked. Aurora feared her.

"I do not think that you would remember me."

Adrian met Aurora's eyes in surprise. She found herself tearing up. "How could I forget you, Aurora?"

Aurora stepped to Adrian's bedside. She ran a wing lightly over Adrian's fur on her head, and then stopped. "Why are you crying?"

"I am not." Adrian sniffed while Aurora rubbed a tear way. "I thought you would hate me. Everyone does. There are those horrible rumors about me that I cannot stand. And I did not want to fight or drink blood, not once in my life. I wanted to find you-" Adrian's voice cracked there, and she broke off, trying desperately not to cry.

"Adrian," Aurora said softly, just like when Adrian was a few days old and falling asleep against her wing.

That did it. Adrian started sobbing like she hadn't since Ares died. Aurora climbed into bed with Adrian and held her close with her wings, and Adrian cried into her mother's chest.

She had tried not to cry because it was so ridiculous. Aurora was here, not hating her and being as caring as she had been a lifetime ago. Adrian should be ecstatic. The only thing was, when Aurora had used that comforting voice and those gentle brushes and her warmth, Adrian realized what she could have had long ago. This feeling- that someone could understand her, care for her, and protect her from everything- was what Adrian had searched a lifetime for.

**The title of the next chapter is, Chapter Thirty: in Which the Peacemaker Returns. For fear of spoiling it, I will say no more. But you are perfectly at liberty to say whatever is on your mind, so please let me know if this is what you wanted/expected/hoped for.**


	30. iw the Peacemaker Returns

**Hello! That would be the only thing I can think of to say- apart from my thanks to such kindly reviewers as coyearth, Kizanna the Underlander, Lady Corkboard, stephanie, and Sparky123.**

**Oh, it scares me that there are only two chapters left beyond this... And believe me, many things can happen in two more chapters. Quite a few things are about to happen right now- such as the interpretation of the Prophecy of Trap, though that is not the main focus. And as I mentioned before, I have had ideas for a sequel. I suppose my first question for those who are interested is, would you like it to be an attachment to this story, or a full-length sequel with another plot? I can do both, depending on interest.**

**Chapter Thirty: in Which the Peacemaker Returns**

"Will the blood-drinker please come forward."

Adrian had heard of a court. She had not been too interested in, nor informed about the practice of law. But now she began to wish that she knew anything about what was going to happen once she stepped forward to those two elderly humans and that flier at the podium.

Aurora nodded, and Adrian hobbled forward. She, Darius, and Gregor were on trial because they had all been deemed treacherous to Regalia. This trial was also meant to decide the final interpretation of the Prophecy of Trap.

The woman in between the man and the flier sitting at the podium scrutinized Adrian, as did the room full of spectators. Nearly every species had come to watch, and absolutely everyone had made "boo" sounds when the three defendants and their friend and family had entered. It was deadly quiet now; Adrian almost preferred the noise, where they were making too much of a racket to really watch her.

"Go you by any other name, blood-drinker?" The woman asked. What name did she have in this court? A judge? It sounded right. Her eyes saw straight through Adrian, to the very heart.

"I go by Adrian, daughter of Ares and Aurora." Adrian had practiced that beforehand.

"Very well," the judge nodded. Nearby, someone was furiously recording everything being said. Great. "Now tell us, blood-drinker, what inspired you to join the ranks of the gnawers?"

"Uh…I am sorry?"

"Tell us about your life," the judge suggested. "Explain what led up to your alliance with the gnawers."

Adrian knew the events and the motives well enough. Her problem was with the room full of people waiting for her to say something they could pin against her. Someone was even writing it down. Adrian didn't know what would say that would be just right for the situation.

From her throne, Luxa watched Adrian with arms folded. This didn't appear to be her favorite topic, but with Vikus and Nerissa on either side of her and Hazard resting near her feet, she couldn't be entirely angry. Aurora was even smiling from the sidelines, near the royal family. Gregor's family sat next to Luxa; they all looked somewhat frail, and Grace looked close to tears, but the only trauma seemed to be emotional. Boots, Temp, and Hazard had been reunited with their respective families, after being found in a cave that Aurora claimed held prisoners that had escaped Regalia.

Gregor and Darius sat at a single table behind Adrian. She looked to them next for a clue, thinking they were probably allowed- as fellow defendants- to give her some help.

After a moment, Darius stood up. "I request to speak alongside the blood-drinker."

"Proceed." The judge waved him forward, and he came to stand next to Adrian. He had her face him.

"Let us pretend it is only you and me," he said. "Pretend I am hearing this for the first time. Where were you born?"

"The jungle, near a colony of nibblers." Adrian raised an eyebrow, wondering why he asked.

"Who was there?"

"Queen Luxa, and Aurora, my mother."

"Do you remember what happened anytime after that?" He asked. "Remember, it is just me." And though he looked like he was itching to say more, he silenced himself and met her eyes. Whatever he had stopped himself from saying was visible now: she could say anything, to him.

Adrian nodded. And on that note, she re-informed him of when she bit Aurora, and later, when she dislocated her wing. Darius kept asking her questions, his eyes never leaving hers. And soon, as she slowly trickled out all the details of her life that he asked for, she began to notice no person but him. It felt like they were back home in the jungle, sitting under a bunch of vines and talking after training. Well…no. The jungle was a place that Adrian was used to, but she wasn't sure it could be a home. Darius made things feel like home, and so did Aurora. And Ares. She could still remember Darius breeching into her unconsciousness, begging her to awaken. That had probably kept her alive.

The judge interrupted before Adrian could get to the final battle. "Scribe, recite the first three stanzas of the Prophecy of Trap."

The human woman (who had been writing down what Adrian had been saying) stilled her quill, and looked up. The room had shifted to face her, and she reddened and cleared her throat. Adrian's eyes narrowed smugly; let her see how it felt to be so concentrated on.

The woman spoke:

"_**Bred by traitor, born in vines,  
**__**Clad in black save one gold line,  
**__**Haunted by the nameless dead,  
**__**The blood-drinker will rear its head.**_

_**Blood-drinker found, the trap is set  
**__**But neither side is darkened yet.  
**__**Blood-drinker and rager conquer night  
**__**And save who gave the flier light.**_

_**Above, the rager must be taken  
**__**Lest a part be long mistaken.  
**__**His princesses must ask and Seek  
**__**The army led by up and beneath**_."

"The three stanzas of the prophecy are explained," the judge announced. "The first stanza describes the blood-drinker. The second explains that the rager- Gregor the Overlander- and the blood-drinker were meant to join forces and 'save who gave the flier light'. As Aurora the flier gave her daughter light, I interpret this as the blood-drinker saving her mother and her people by birth, the Regalians. The third stanza states that the rager and his sisters were vital to finding and leading the ally, or the stingers. Am I correct?" There was a general murmur of consensus. "Please continue."

Being so recent and so startling, the final battle was harder for Adrian to recall. But Darius squeezed out as many memories as he could without hurting her. But as she reached the end...well, she wasn't sure about how to break that.

"And what after the threat?" Darius asked. Adrian paused, and glanced to the crowd.

"And...then?" Darius tried again.

"I...I did jump for Queen Luxa," she said quietly. "But I did not hit her. I went above her, and landed on Locklunge."

"Did you mean to?"

"Yes."

"What did Locklunge do?"

"He...screamed, and tried to claw me off. But I held on, and I sort of shuffled around him until I was on his back. And then I twisted his neck."

A moment of silence followed. Adrian doubted it was in honor, but more to let the words sink in. Then came the reactions, scattered throughout the audience but roughly the same:

"Impossible!"

"She betrays again!"

"_Liar!_"

"Silence!" The judge called. "Silence!" The spectators gradually settled, but not without a few stray leers. "Now, blood-drinker, is he certainly dead?" The judge asked.

Adrian nodded.

"What did you do after you thought him dead?"

"Nothing. Flametooth, one of Locklunge's assistants, took Queen Luxa's sword and stabbed me in the stomach. My memory fades from there."

"May I have a medical report for the blood-drinker?" The judge looked around the audience. From the first row of the bleachers, Howard stood up, leaning on Nike for support. One of his legs had turned out to be broken.

"It was a shallow wound," Howard announced, "caused by inexperience with a sword. One organ was punctured, some others ruptured, but after some emergency surgery, she will likely fully recover."

"How did she get to a surgeon? Howard cannot possibly have performed it in his condition," the judge noted.

Gregor stood. "Can I answer?"

The woman looked at him sourly. "You may."

"Thanks." Gregor came to stand next to Darius. "Well, Adrian was stabbed, and Darius and I flew down the wall to catch her before she landed on the rocks at the bottom. We barely got a good grip on her, and by the time we put her on top of the wall, Tangent had killed Flametooth and chased the other two rats away. Luxa got Aurora untied, and I rode with them and got the armies together while Darius carried Adrian to the hospital."

"He brought me back to life," Adrian whispered to herself. Focus turned to her, and she flushed. "There was a time, after I got stabbed…I saw my father. And I would have stayed with him, but I heard Darius. I believe…perhaps I was dead before he called out."

Darius looked at Adrian with widened eyes. "I…really?"

Adrian nodded. Darius blinked, and looked away so that his expression was lost. "I thought I'd lost you," He murmured.

"I, for one," said the elderly man next to the judge, "want to know how this applies to the Prophecy of Trap. Why must the blood-drinker's life be saved, if she has killed enough?"

"I know why," a small voice said. From the royalty section, Nerissa's knees almost buckled under the weight of her blankets and shawls as she stood up.

"We recognize Nerissa, of the royal family," the judge said. "We invite you to speak."

"It has been in my attention ever since I first heard of these adventures," Nerissa said as she was helped into a chair between the defendants, "that no one has considered the death of Ripred. This would mean that the Peacemaker has passed away. Yet," she took a second to cough, "the Prophecy of Trap calls for a Peacemaker and his bond.

"Traditionally, this would mean Ripred and Queen Luxa would have saved the blood-drinker. However, Gregor and Darius, a pair that had just bonded, saved the life of the blood-drinker after she realized Locklunge's true nature. Perhaps no one wants to believe it true, but…" Most of the audience was talking by this point. Adrian hadn't quite pieced it together, but Gregor and Darius seemed to understand, and were shifting nervously.

"Uh…which one of us, Nerissa?" Gregor asked.

Nerissa gave Gregor a thin smile. "You, Gregor. You are the new Peacemaker."

**Comments, questions, reactions, statements, words? All are welcome. Oh, and up next: Gluxa!**


	31. iw Gregor and Luxa Have a Moment Alone

**My thanks to coyearth, Lady Corkboard, Kizanna the Underlander, and stephanie for the reviews! Your reactions make me very happy to have posted this. ^^**

**Oh, there are only two more chapters left...and that's including this one! I suppose stories can never last forever, though, even with sequels. Speaking of this sequel, still taking requests. I have an idea of what I'd like to happen, but unless anyone wants me to include a plotline or an idea, it will probably be a three-chapter story instead of a three-part like this.**

**Chapter Thirty One: in Which Gregor and Luxa Finally Have a Moment Alone**

Gregor wasn't the only one who was surprised, that was for sure. The audience of humans, bats, rats, roaches, and all sorts of creatures went nuts.

"She lies!"

"Ripred is the Peacemaker!"

"The boy stands with the blood-drinker!"

"_Kill the Peacemaker!_"

Nerissa waited, the smile still evident on her face, while the woman at the podium banged her gavel for order and threatened to throw the entire crowd out of the room. Gregor stared at Nerissa, wondering how she could be so oblivious to the shouts and objections. Maybe the layer of blankets she wore blocked out sound.

"Do you not see," Nerissa said quietly to Gregor, "how they scream at you?"

"Uh, yeah!" Gregor exclaimed. "I think they hate me, Nerissa."

"That they do." Nerissa nodded. This had better not be her idea of sympathy. "After you saved the life of the blood-drinker, a sworn enemy of Regalia, of course they do." Adrian shuffled her feet nervously. "But Gregor, that is what peacemakers do. They assist both sides, until a compromise can be made. And because they do so, they are 'by most rejected'."

"But I'm not…" Gregor tried to remember the rest of the Peacemaker prophecy. "What about Ripred's 'x' on his eye? I don't have that."

"Do you not?" Nerissa raised an eyebrow. "Ripred has his 'x' on his rager spot, his one physical weakness. And where is yours?"

Gregor tried not to look at it, because if he did, the tiny part of the audience that was listening would know his weakness. But he knew where his rager spot was after both Silversnap and Adrian had scarred it: the back of his right hand. It twitched at the memory of Silversnap clawing it after the evacuation and Adrian scraping it while she drank from Ripred. Gregor felt the two fine scars that ran over each other. Right in the shape of an "x".

"One line given to you by an enemy. One line given by someone you did not expect to consider a friend." Nerissa leaned back onto her chair and coughed. "You were 'killed' by the same claw that made that unexpected line, as well. Your rager powers definitely mark you as a dealer of death. And also…" She looked around at the witnesses, who were reverting back to their steely silence as she provided proof.

She beckoned Gregor closer, and whispered in his ear. "Whether they like you or not, the Underland will not let a Peacemaker go."

Gregor jerked back abruptly and stared at the frail Nerissa with wide eyes. He could see it in her pupils, a secret meant for the two of them. His eyes flickered to Luxa. Even if the entire Underland wanted him dead, they would keep him present and alive if only to stop their wars. That is, if Gregor made it look like he believed in Sandwich and looked like he could do the job…

What would Ripred do?

"Gregor the Overlander," the woman at the podium said, "do you agree with Nerissa's claim?"

Gregor thought a moment, and then stepped forward. "Yes I do," he said. "I am the Peacemaker. See?" He raised his right hand and held the back of it to the woman, and then to the crowd. Eyes widened as they saw the "x" made of still-healing scars.

"…Good," the woman at the podium said. This didn't seem to be the occasion to say, "Congratulations and good luck leading us," anyways. "Very well, then, Gregor the Peacemaker. In the best interest of all the creatures of the Underland, I hereby clear you of all charges."

"Hey, what about my bond?" Gregor demanded. He knew he ought to be grateful, but Darius was just standing there in the middle of the room, still on trial for his life.

"Darius the flier, seeing as all claims mention your devotion to Regalia, you are cleared along with the Peacemaker," the woman said as an afterthought. Darius straightened and mouthed "thank you" to Gregor, who half-grinned back. Darius had saved his life. It was all he could do to repay him.

"Now, Peacemaker," the woman said, "I imagine you want to testify on behalf of the blood-drinker? Otherwise, I open the floor to all comments for or against her."

"Oh, I have one." A gray rat stepped onto the floor from the bleachers. Darius whispered to Gregor, "Thrust. One of Locklunge's subordinates who took your sisters." Adrian closed her eyes, and a sort of whimper escaped her.

"Adrian, how _could_ you?" Thrust sounded furious, but also hurt. He spoke rapidly, and had a slight twitch around his eye. "After everything we did for you, the blood you drank, the cave you slept in, the care you got- we tried to help you! You wanted to avenge your father by hurting Queen Luxa who started the war, you know the Bane had nothing to do with us- and then you completely turned around! You allied with the Queen, betrayed us, when we took better care of you than-"

"Stop, Thrust, it is not like that." Adrian shook her head. If she could cover her ears, she would have.

"You killed Locklunge!" He cried. "After all the torture the humans put us through together, you killed the one gnawer trying to remedy it! How could you betray us? Betray him? Or Silversnap?"

"No, stop!" Adrian stepped away from him, eyes squeezed shut. "Stop…"

"Hey, Thrust, that's enough!" Gregor said.

"You." Thrust turned his gray head to Gregor and spat. "Peacemaker. What did Ripred bring us but empty stomachs? And you are a pup. You will not find respect with _me_. You, who could do nothing but persuade Adrian to abandon her home and join you killers! We gnawers are furious. We want revenge!"

"Restrain him!" The woman at the podium called. Thrust's eye was twitching like a pulse, and the look he gave Gregor and Adrian suggested that he wouldn't be stationary much longer. Two mice grabbed him on both sides and tugged him towards the doors.

"What about your blood, Adrian?" Thrust bellowed as he struggled to stay put. The two mice won the fight, but as he was dragged off, Thrust said something that hung in the air for an eternity. "Without the gnawers, you're dead!"

Adrian looked about to cry by then.

"…Is he right? Can't you just, I don't know, drink something else?" Gregor asked hesitantly.

"No," Adrian said softly. When she looked up at him, her eyes were ablaze with panic. "I cannot. And I know that this is unacceptable."

"Why?" Gregor asked. But he asked the question to the woman at the podium, not Adrian. "Why can't she drink blood?"

"It is barbaric!" The ancient bat on one side of the woman answered. "And we could not feed that sort of appetite."

"What? With all the battles around here, you can't throw her a carcass? And Howard," Gregor said to his friend near the stands. "I bet you guys have needles to take blood out of a body. I bet you used it in the plague."

"We did," Howard nodded.

"So take blood from volunteers. We do it all the time in the Overland. Heck, I'll volunteer if I have to! Because none of this is Adrian's fault. She doesn't want to drink blood any more than I want to be a rager. You know what? I don't even think you hate her because she drinks blood." Gregor folded his arms. "It's because she fought for the rats, isn't it."

"How do you claim such a thing?" The old man next to the woman at the podium stood up.

"Well, what would you have done if Adrian came home with Luxa and Aurora?" Gregor retorted. "I bet you thought she'd really be useful in controlling the gnawers. I bet you'd feed her if she would help you. And she did! She killed Locklunge, who none of you guys could seem to get rid of. And you want to kill her for stopping the gnawers in their tracks."

"Her ties with the gnawers are too strong," the man said. "She could not even bring herself to contradict the gnawer that we had to restrain minutes ago."

"Yeah, but what did he want anyways? This trap was because the gnawers wanted food that you weren't giving. If anything, this is your fault. We can try to satisfy the gnawers so there's no more rebellion. Yeah, you probably want to revenge, but look where revenge got you. We're all getting trapped in a big cycle, and everyone's even resorting to kids- me, Queen Luxa, Adrian. Isn't it time to rethink this whole thing before more innocent people die?"

The woman, man, and bat at the podium looked at each other before the woman spoke. "Adrian the blood-drinker," She gave a pointed look to Gregor as a warning not to answer for the bat. "If we were to grant you your life, what would you do with it?"

Adrian bit her lip. She took a deep breath, and glanced to Darius in a sort of question. He half-smiled. Whatever answer this was, Adrian seemed to like it, and responded.

"If I cannot live the way I want to, quietly and safely…I will stand by Gregor the Peacemaker. I want to use what little influence I have to set things right, even if it means compromising with the gnawers. Because I am loyal to both humans and gnawers, and- like Gregor- I want nothing but peace between them."

Gregor looked to his friends to see what they thought of this. Howard and Nike smiled at him encouragingly. Lizzie and Boots waved at him, while Mom and Dad watched silently. Aurora was surveying her daughter and didn't even glance Gregor's way. And Luxa was nodding her head slightly. She liked this.

"I request the floor once more." Nerissa raised her hand feebly. The woman at the podium nodded. "I refer to the last two stanzas of the Prophecy of Trap.

'_**Two leaders join, their minds deceived.  
**__**Blood-drinker and rager make enemies.  
**__**But one Peacemaker and his bond  
**__**Can save at the battle the one who chose wrong.**_'

"This refers to Gregor and Adrian's perennial hatred of each other, though neither of them realized what the other side was going through. Despite this, Gregor overcame his anger over Ripred's death and his mistrust of the gnawers to save the blood-drinker from falling paralyzed to her death. This leads us to today, otherwise known as the fifth stanza.

'_**Among the leads, two deaths impend  
**__**Unless they both will make amends.  
**__**The leaders' hearts will seal our fates.  
**__**One wrong decision seals the gates.**__'_

"Gregor and Adrian both almost died, and yet here they stand, insisting we end this feud with the gnawers. Will it work? We do not know. But they both have their hearts in this idea of peace. It seems that we have only to determine what wrong decision will 'seal the gates'."

Gregor wondered when Nerissa had decided to be so helpful.

The woman at the podium looked to the man and bat on either side of her, and made a decision. "Adrian the blood-drinker, we do not know what you can do. But if you are true to your word, we have no choice. On the condition that you aid Regalia to your fullest power, I grant you your life."

Adrian's head thrust up to look at the woman, incredulous. The woman ignored the bat and turned to the friends and family of the defendants. "Queen Luxa, your verdict?"

Luxa took her eyes from Gregor's to watch Adrian bite her lip. After a throbbing silence, she announced, "The blood-drinker shall live."

"Dismissed." The woman banged her gavel and stood up, as did most of the crowd. Gregor wasn't sure what to do, but his family took care of that by showering him in affection- hugs, kisses, pats on the back, all enough to knock out what little air he had. Finally, someone got him to back off- Luxa, who hugged him before stopping short in front of his parents.

Gregor didn't care. He was alive. He, his family, and his bond were safe. And Luxa's arms were around his chest. Gregor kissed her on the lips, just for a moment before Howard, Nike, Mareth, and Tangent made their way from the audience to congratulate him.

"It may have been worse," Mareth grinned before adding, "Peacemaker." He sobered. "When the Peacemaker prophecy said 'by most rejected', it did not have to imply that the entire Underland rejected you."

"I think they will learn to accept a savior," Tangent said. "But they will start with the young blood-drinker before the Overlander."

The nibbler nodded past Gregor's family to Adrian, who was looking between three bats, still in shock about the verdict. There was Aurora shaking her wing, Darius smiling at her, and a reddish-gold bat who was very close to Darius (she had been introduced as Hestia).

"Adrian, you are free. Regalia will help you live," Aurora said to her nonresponsive daughter.

"You can drink blood…" Hestia offered.

Adrian blinked and gave a small smile. "This is good. It is only…" She looked down, then shook her head. "What now?"

"We are scavenging supplies enough to make a feast," Hazard told everyone from next to Luxa. "We wanted to surprise you."

"…Wait." Lizzie held up a trembling hand (probably a side-effect from her anxiety about the trial). "You knew what would happen? Y-you knew Gregor would live?"

"Lizzie," Nerissa spoke from her chair. She hadn't moved ever since she'd sat in the middle of the court to testify. "Have you heard any rumors about me?"

Epiphany dawned. "Gregor said you could see the future," Lizzie said.

"And the past. And the present. I think." Nerissa sighed. "But sometimes, my visions are not a cause of madness. They can show me things no one else sees." For some reason, she smiled meekly at Adrian, then at Gregor. "We expect much from you."

Adrian gulped. "Uh…may we go to the feast?"

Boots and Hazard (on Temp) led the group to the half-reconstructed High Hall, where tables had a mismatched variety of half-dead food, and musicians tried to play around their broken instruments. Yet when people started to dance, eat, and tell stories, the laughs and smiles in the room increased until it was just as gleeful as Hazard's birthday party.

It was a bit of a disappointment that so many creatures were staring at Gregor like they didn't know what to make of him. He bitterly acknowledged that they had at least respected Ripred for the lifetime of work he had done; Gregor's accomplishments meant little in comparison. But he only thought about this once, because for most of the party, he had been sitting, eating, and talking with whoever would tolerate him. And that was a pretty good list of people.

Mom and Dad were talking with Vikus and Mareth about their permanent move (apparently Mom knew that not even wars or near-death would keep her kids away now), so Gregor could shuttle between Boots and her cockroaches, Darius and Hestia and their reunion with the bats, Tangent and Grid and their troops, some of the Underlanders who worked at the castle (like Dulcet), and even Howard's family.

Gregor felt like turning to find Ripred and Lizzie sharing shrimp in the corner, but then remembered. Luckily, Luxa put a hand on his shoulder. "Hazard insists I dance with you."

Gregor forgot to ask until they were already on the edge of the dance floor, swaying to the slow music and trying not to get attention. "What would Howard say?"

"Howard has seen enough of my grief to leave us alone this once." Luxa looked into his eyes. "I never knew you could have me feel so…"

"Sad? Upset?" Gregor suggested.

"Alone. It was different when you left. I knew you lived, and you could have been happy. But your death…I felt like the war had already been fought. That everyone died with you."

Luxa looked away, and Gregor put a hand on her cheek. "You know, if it helps, I promise not to die again." Luxa quirked a smile, so Gregor kept talking. "I mean, it can't be all bad being a Peacemaker. No one will expect me to go into battle."

"And you realize that you will have to work will all manner of leaders," Luxa paused. "Including me."

"That's a good thing?" Luxa punched Gregor in the arm at that. But she was smiling again. "Maybe if I'm lucky I could get a room next to yours," Gregor suggested.

"If you get on very good terms with the diggers, they could build us a passageway."

"Or a secret room."

"I could ask Hazard to preoccupy Howard. He is quite agreeable to this, as he looks up to Howard. Or perhaps I can offer him cake, the growing little shiner."

"Maybe Boots would want to patrol the halls on Temp and keep Howard away. We could give her a fake dagger to make her think it's a big job."

Gregor and Luxa laughed at the idea of Boots posing as a guard, and soon their eyes fell on each other. For no reason, Gregor pulled her a little closer. No one noticed; all the truly talented dancers were twirling and waltzing to the slow music, and took attention from the teens.

"Gregor," Luxa said, "will you miss the Overland?"

"Why would I?"

"Things seem so much calmer up there. You would not have to fight or stop wars, and you would not get killed…"

"Yeah. But I don't have a home up there. I can't hide my scars, or tell people what a rager is. Here, I've got a bond, and a whole bunch of people I don't have to hide from…and this really cool girl who means everything to me."

Luxa didn't move, but her shy grin was enough to convince Gregor that he'd said the right thing.

The song ended, and the Underlanders led a smattering of applause. The spell was broken; eyes turned to the queen and the Peacemaker. They broke out of their half-dance, half-embrace and got off the dance floor. Howard, Hazard, and Lizzie were waiting.

"That lasted entirely too long," Howard frowned.

"But I told you that you had to dance with Gregor, did I not, Luxa?" Hazard said. "Howard does not believe me."

"He did," Luxa told Howard.

"Regardless, could you please keep at least arms' length apart?" Howard folded his arms. "Queen Luxa and Gregor the Peacemaker cannot-"

"It was cute," Lizzie blurted. "I mean good. Happy. Mom wants you to come eat," She told Gregor, who smiled and took her by the hand.

"It's okay, Howard, Mom's going to chew me out later," Gregor said as they walked to the table. "You only have to scold Luxa."

"Gregor!" Luxa scowled half-heartedly. Howard, who had looked extremely put out of his rage, couldn't hold back a chuckle.

Mom was ready with a plate of meats for Gregor, but had to go talk to Dad, Vikus, and Mareth about living arrangements once Gregor was eating. Howard wasn't ready to leave Gregor and Luxa alone again, but he let Darius have a seat next to Gregor. The bonds exchanged grins, and then Darius said, "Are you well, Adrian?"

Gregor turned, and sure enough, next to Luxa was Aurora, and next to her was a small black bat hunched over a glass of blood so that her gold stripe could be seen.

"Did the trial upset you?" Hazard sat next to Adrian at the circular table.

"Let us not ask her that." Nike arrived and sat between Howard and Hazard. The table was now full.

Gregor felt slightly guilty. To his left was Luxa, to his right Darius. He felt invincible with his friends. But Adrian only had Aurora with her.

Adrian noticed their concern and looked up, a slight smile glinting on her sharp teeth. "I am glad you are all here," She said. "Now…would you please tell me a story about Ares?"

Gregor and Darius exchanged looks. "Are you sure?" Darius asked.

Adrian's smile grew. "I think I can handle it."

**As you know, one chapter remains. This is the one chapter I have not typed down yet (I have three notebooks full of Adrian's exploits, going on four). So if anyone cares to know what final actions lie ahead, reviews would be the best way to ask me to write. Please?**


	32. iw Darius Makes it Better

**Hello, everyone. I must apologize, first of all, because I have waited this long to update. Quite honestly, I'm horrible at finishing stories. I don't really want them to finish, and I feel very proud of Adrian, so I want this to be done least of all. I have made little progress on a sequel, and though I have hopes, I may not get to one. However, now that the bad news is over, I may tell you that it's Christmas Eve, I am updating now, and I do have other fanfictions planned. I have already posted an Underland Christmas Carol, and have a three-shot I might post. Is this good, do you think?**

**And so, with the greatest appreciation to all the readers who have ever reviewed this story, I give you the final chapter of Adrian the Blood-Drinker.**

**Chapter Thirty-Two: Epilogue- in Which Darius Makes it Better**

Adrian was to sleep in the palace tonight, but the matter was, she couldn't. Sleep, that was. Not that being encased in a stone tomb made her comfortable.

To her surprise, she had been allowed to be in Queen Luxa's apartments. Of course, it was only because Aurora slept here half the time, and Adrian was in a room as far away from Luxa's as possible. Still, if she needed Aurora, she was just a few footsteps away from the door. And Luxa was willing to put up with Adrian if only because Aurora wanted it so. It was a good start.

A life in Regalia. It felt far-fetched. Hazard had advised her to take a long walk outside the buildings and breathe deeply if she found herself claustrophobic or missing the jungle. But Adrian didn't miss the jungle. She just wasn't sure she wanted to be here.

She couldn't stop thinking about Locklunge. What if she hadn't killed him? What if it was Aurora, or Gregor, or anyone else that he threatened instead of Luxa? What if Silversnap had been with them at the battle? Adrian wished that battle could have been avoided. She loathed the thought of blindly taking orders from a gnawer who had deceived her. He'd used her father's death, used her grief to make her hate Luxa and hate the humans. Even if Luxa had started the war, even if Gregor didn't protect Ares in time, it was violence that killed Ares, a centuries-old conflict between humans and gnawers. Aurora got caught in it. Ares got caught in it. And so did Adrian, and so did everyone she loved, hated, or didn't care about.

She was shuffling out of the apartments before she knew it, trying not to wake anyone. A hole grew in her with each step, right where Flametooth had stabbed her. She had said she'd spend her life helping Gregor gain peace, after that centuries-old conflict. But how? Would creatures like Flametooth, who saw in black and white and attacked anything they didn't like, really listen to a pup like her? And the blood-drinking. No one, not even Adrian, would listen to a co-Peacemaker that thrived on war and death.

She didn't know where she was going. She simply wandered through the hollow halls, taking any turn that interested her. Maybe Hazard meant well, but his advice about walking and breathing did little to soothe her. Maybe it only worked for claustrophobia. At least Hazard care about her and her well-being.

Darius cared too. He'd carried Adrian all the way to the hospital. He'd caught her from the sky and revived her with his voice. He listened to her; better yet, he seemed to _want_ to listen, instead of use her, as the rest of the Underland seemed to intend.

Maybe he'd listen now. He'd said when they were younger that talking helped her solve and move on with problems. She remembered when she spoke with him that he seemed to take on all her thoughts and feelings as she shared them. In fact, she could recall one conversation they'd had when he was teaching her to fly…

Now if only she could find Darius.

Bonds sometimes slept together, Adrian reminded herself. So where could Gregor be? Did Darius ever say where he slept? There were the caves at the outskirts of the city, but she was looking for him for a reason concerning exactly that.

She noticed she was heading down a steep slope. The windows showed she was about on ground level. Did fliers sleep on ground level normally, or did they prefer—

"_Get away!_"

Adrian knew that voice from somewhere. It was far away, echoing through a small stairway tucked in a corner. Adrian looked around—she doubted Darius was in this area—and descended the spiraling steps, one foot at a time.

She arrived in a narrow hallway lit by a single torch. Doors dotted each wall, most of them locked and sealed tight. Only one was cracked open slightly; this room towards the end of the hall was a likely source of the yell.

"Leave me alone! You foul little pup of an enemy—"

"Peace. We do not want to harm you."

"You say this like you _can_."

This definitely confirmed Adrian's thoughts. The voice came from that slightly open door. She still didn't recognize the one screaming insults, but the one telling him to calm down was…Darius?

"Hey, relax, okay? We just want to talk." This was Gregor. Apparently the other half of the "we" Darius was referring to.

"Whatever you want to discuss, _pup,_" the first voice sneered, "you will not get me to discuss it. Even if I am a prisoner, I do not have to submit to a pint-sized Peacemaker!"

"The whole 'prisoner' thing depends on your behavior," Gregor said. "We only took you because you were insulting Adrian in the middle of court."

Adrian inhaled sharply; they were talking to Thrust.

"She had it coming. But how is Locklunge's prodigy? Let me guess, you took her under your wing because she's a pup like yourself? Or because she's your late bond's daughter? You tell me. Or let the boy tell me, he seems to know everything as of late." Thrust was beginning to bellow. For a high-strung gnawer, he had a horrible temper in a bad situation.

"Adrian and I are going to make up with the gnawers," Gregor said in a steely tone. "And you're going to help."

"And why should I do that?" Thrust said mockingly.

"We do not have to make peace," Darius said. "We can always make war. And your jungle clan has no leader. So guess who will be attacked first?"

"My clan is more home to you than Regalia ever was!"

"However true or false that is, I have no obligation to the clan," Darius reasoned. "You spared me and my mother. I trained Adrian to be your warrior and leader. The results are not my problem."

Thrust didn't know what to say to that. His toughness had faded a bit to worry when he growled, "What do you want with me?"

"We want to know what the gnawers want with _us,_" Gregor said. "Why did you start the war?"

"We had Adrian."

"And why did you want to use her?"

"We didn't use her. She wanted to avenge her father, and we wanted to help."

"By attacking every human and ally of theirs? Yeah, right."

"We have a right to loathe the humans! You steal our land and our food, and you have killed as many of us as you could reach. We wanted you dead like you wanted to kill us! And then Locklunge rose as a leader once you chased us into that vile jungle. He wanted you back in the Overland, all of you, and soon we wanted it too. Every last gnawer. Look at the advantage you hold! We have no organization, no power, no leader—"

Darius interrupted. "Lapblood is leader until further notice."

"So you're just scared of us, aren't you?" Gregor asked Thrust.

"Scared? No, never!" Thrust said; the anger and panic was back.

"But you just said we had an—"

"No, that's enough! Leave me alone, you had your question!"

"Wait, what would you guys want if we made a treaty?"

"No treaties! No, we must be dominant again. The humans have caused too much damage, so we will not trust a human, not even a Peacemaker! You…you killers!"

"He is delusional, Gregor," Darius said. "A character like this should not be around Locklunge. His twitching could turn to—"

_Whomp._ "Haha!"

"Hey! You stupid—augh!" That was Gregor. Adrian's echolocation told her that Thrust had pounced onto Gregor and was trying to claw at his face. But before Adrian could step into the doorway, Gregor's sword was wielded in his hand and Thrust was batting the glinting metal away. Gregor squirmed out from Thrust's bulking build and pointed the tip of the sword to Thrust's chest.

"I still need answers." Gregor glared. "You can give them to me and I'll let you go back to your clan peacefully—"

"He is half insane!" Darius hissed. Gregor ignored him.

"Or you can keep me from stopping these wars. You don't know how bad I need to know the gnawers so I can make them happy. If you want to be stubborn…" Gregor left the threat dangling in the air.

"You wouldn't," Thrust leered.

"Are you sure?" Gregor asked. "I've been in a lot of wars, and I've been training with Ripred. Both have taught me some pretty nasty stuff, and I don't mind using it on you if it means no one else has to feel it."

"Precisely why you humans need to leave," Thrust snarled.

"Darius," Gregor said, "let's go. We'll be back with help tomorrow."

"Good luck, Thrust," Darius said solemnly to the gnawer in his prison cell. He opened the door and froze. "Adrian…? What are—"

"Adrian! _Traitor!_" Thrust bellowed. Darius ran out the door with Gregor at his heels, and the three of them blocked the entrance right as Thrust's head hit the metal door.

The three of them panted; that had been too close. Maybe Thrust was rabid as well as delusional.

"What are you doing, Adrian?" Gregor asked when he'd caught his breath. Thrust pounded against the bulwark when he heard the name, so they walked back down the hallway.

"I wanted to find Darius. But what are _you_ doing?"

Darius and Gregor looked at each other, and then Gregor yawned. "You know, I'm pretty tired. And I'm supposed to be in bed and not thinking about peacemaking, anyways. I better get going."

"But Gregor—" Adrian protested.

"Darius will explain it," Gregor said. "I'll be in bed if you need me. Have fun, you two."

The two fliers watched Gregor's back as he walked down the long hall and turned a corner. Now that it was just the two of them, Darius turned to Adrian. "Was there…ah, something you wanted?"

Adrian nodded slightly. "I was only wondering. You may not remember how to get there or why I ask." The next sentence burst out of her like the Waterway would burst from a dam. "Will you take me to Ares' old cave?"

Darius looked surprised at the rush of words, and then smiled gently. "Of course."

He led her out of the hall and up a flight of stairs. Adrian began to recall that Darius had described an area beneath the castle where prisoners and enemies of Regalia were kept. In fact, Hestia and Gregor's parents and the entire royal family had been kept here. Even her own parents had had their own separate turns in this dark pit: the dungeon.

What was Darius doing in the dungeon? Gregor said Thrust was there for his court appearance, but that didn't mean they had to visit. What did Darius and Gregor want from a so-called enemy?

Adrian waited until her feet were off the ground to ask: "Darius?"

"Yes?" he responded as their wings pushed them farther from the castle.

"What were you and Gregor doing in the dungeons?"

Darius looked down. "We wanted answers, like Gregor said."

"But towards the end, it did not sound like questions. It sounded almost like Gregor was threatening." Adrian frowned worriedly. "I did not think he could do that."

"Yes, appearances do deceive around here," Darius noted wryly. "I suppose that at this point, with Gregor's title and his duty, it is not about what he wants to do, but rather what he should do."

"But after all the pain he—we caused going in the wrong direction, must we cause pain to set things right?"

"Please understand, Adrian. What else can we do? Each side is blinded by only its own pain, with the exception of creatures like Gregor. And as Peacemaker, it is his duty to awaken the Underlanders to the misery they cause to themselves and each other. If he must torture one person for answers helpful enough to save thousands from their own revenge, he must do it." Darius paused. "And besides, it is Thrust's own fault for being so stubborn."

"But what if Gregor had to hurt someone like Luxa? Perhaps not physically, but by caring for those she considers enemies. Would she not be hurt by that? Would he? Darius, he would have to have nerves of steel!"

"Hush," Darius said. In honesty, Adrian's voice was beginning to carry. Some fliers out celebrating their renewed freedom of flight began to stare.

"I am rather surprised this is coming from you." Darius chuckled slightly. "You will have to do this too, in order to make peace."

"I would rather not," Adrian murmured. "Is there no way to make them see reason without torturing, starving, or harming their people?"

"We are not creatures of reason. Look at the gnawers, who took Regalia hostage for a little more food. Or the humans, who drowned many innocent creatures to simply gain the upper hand in a war. Did either action really evoke anything but revenge? No. But we had no other way to resolve things, until now.

"The Underland needs creatures like you and Gregor. You, who have suffered and lost so much, but who have still not lost sight of a better life. Despite Gregor's raging and your blood-drinking, and the causes for revenge you both have, you still want to resolve problems to the benefit of everyone.

"And I admire that. I am so very glad you and Gregor were reunited with your families, for you have earned it. You fought for them, and you fight for this now."

"…But what if it does not work?" Adrian said quietly. Because deep down, this was her fear. Nerissa, Tangent, the woman at the podium…they had all said that they expected big things from her. And if she had to do what Gregor was doing, she wasn't sure she could.

"It will." Darius matched her quiet tone. "Because you want it to."

Adrian mulled over this new piece of information like a child would run its hands over a new toy. A smile twitched on one corner of her lips. Darius could always make it better.

Darius. He was to her left, with his wing overlapping hers as they glided. Most everyone thought him unremarkable with his brown fur, but it was actually a mix of red, gold, and a hint of black. Just another clue that Darius was not always what one would think him to be.

"Here it is," Darius said and glanced to Adrian. "Are you staring?"

"No." Adrian's eyes flickered from his face, and of course, the first thing that caught her attention was a dark, ominous hole in the towering cliffside that they now approached. There were caves nearby with flier families nestled inside, and the occasional torch hung on the stone walls, but no light or warmth ever reached the cave that waited here to swallow them whole.

At least, there would be no warmth if Adrian hadn't known who it belonged to.

As she and Darius landed on the small rock ledge outside the cave, she could almost smell what had to be the musk of her father. She had gotten a whiff of it only once before, when she watched Ares fight the Bane. Now his aura wrapped around her like his wings did when she saw him as she lay unconscious.

Adrian sighed. It was a shame; after all the tales she'd looked up to and all the things she did in his name, Ares never did come back.

This ledge was where Aurora had landed to get a closer look at the flier who had been watching her. These were supplies that Ares and Henry, his first bond, had collected. That corner could be where Howard and the others had found Ares lying infected with the plague (a story Adrian now knew to be true). Somehow, it had all remained intact. And somehow, without having been here before, it felt like more of a home than Adrian had ever known.

Darius shuffled, still on the rocky ledge that he had landed on. "I…I suppose I should go back to the castle and leave you to your—"

"No!" Adrian turned around. The emotion in her voice surprised even her. "Will you stay? Please?"

Darius paused, and then nodded. He sat at the mouth of the cave, and Adrian wandered next to him.

"Is it all you wanted?" he asked her.

"Yes, I think." She nodded. "The view is nice, and it is very out of the way from others."

"I do not only mean the cave." Darius chuckled slightly. "I suppose I meant your life, though I did not want to say it."

"Oh. …It is alright, I suppose. I have Aurora, and Luxa does not hate me. And I am trying to end war."

"But…?"

"But war may still go on, regardless of what I, a blood-drinker, try to do about it. War has killed Ares, after all. It must have a serious sort of power."

"Hmm. That is all?" Darius smiled. "You have dealt with war before, and you will not be alone in it now. I only wonder if something else gnaws at you."

"Perhaps that I betrayed the gnawers?"

"Think about your death." Darius sounded a little tense right now. "You saw Ares, and then…I brought you back to life. Do you know why, Adrian?"

"I…I do not."

"Let me ask you this. Do you know why I saved you?"

When Adrian looked up to answer, Adrian had his lip bit in the very expression that he used when nervous. But he also looked a little hopeful, and there was something else. Where had she seen it? No, she hadn't seen it. But she'd heard it in Gregor's whispers, tasted the blood rushing to Luxa's face in a blush, felt it in the hug Darius had given her in the jungle to assure her that Aurora cared. This wasn't what she felt for Aurora, but more like what Aurora felt for Ares, more like what Ripred had tried to describe once Gregor and Luxa had fallen asleep in each other's arms.

Was Darius feeling love?

Adrian found herself heating up, but she managed to nod. "I believe I know why."

"Would you do the same for me?"

It seemed like a horrible question for Darius to ask. But, looking into his eyes, she saw he wanted to know more. Not only if she cared for him, but…something further.

She didn't know how to tell if she was in love. But here, with him, it seemed like—even in this world, even for a blood-drinker like her—love could be possible.

"I would," she said.

"Really?"

"Yes." A pause. "And this sounds so strange for me, and I never really thought about it, but I would. I always would." Looking down, she half-whispered, as if she was afraid this was wrong and yet so confident it was true. "Darius, I...I think I love you."

Darius examined her for a second. He always saw right through her. And then his wings wrapped around her.

"I do as well. I always have. And I will," he whispered.

Adrian immediately felt warmer and her heart was heavy with a type of happiness she hadn't anticipated to feel. She wanted the world to feel this way. But that would mean ending war, which would mean causing pain to some people. One of those people, if not Aurora, may be Darius.

Oh, how could she think this? Darius made everything better. But Darius didn't hold the Underland on his shoulders.

Adrian hoped that everything would be alright.

She hoped.


	33. iw roughdiamond5 Discusses the Sequel

My dear readers and fellow fans,

It saddens me to inform you that I won't be writing for the Underland anymore. It's partially because I have so little time to write, partially because I need to invest myself in other things (college, for instance), and partially because I can only come up with so many ideas and follow through on them. But mostly, I've outgrown the series.

That's not to say that I dislike _The Underland Chronicles_ now. The series will always have a special place in my memories as a tool that helped me grow, much like the _Maximum Ride_ series or Borders. And I doubt I'll give up on fanfiction in general. It's just that my priorities have shifted, and I'm writing more and more real fiction, if I write at all. In fact, I've published a book.

Now, before I continue, I need to tell you: please, please, _please_ don't assume that this author's note is meant to be only an advertisement. I'm mentioning my book because I've heard some of you say you like my writing style, and for those of you who do, I'm hoping that my book might be a sort of apology and a compensation for my lack of fanfiction. If you want to ignore the offer and read about more Underland-ish things, skip the next paragraph.

My book is called _True Stories_, and the link to buy a copy is on my profile page. It's a collection of short stories, poetry, and longer works, many of which will please Underland fans. I wrote a fifty-page story about a girl in a foreign kingdom who meets the rulers (sound familiar?), and there's also a long poem called "Ballad to a Rat", which is essentially TUC except with no names mentioned and with a slightly different ending. As you can see, the Underland will never leave me completely.

Is anybody still with me? Good. Advertisement time is done.

I hope you'll give my book a chance, but if you don't, I understand. I hate ads, and that's why I'm offering you all something for free: what I have of the sequel to _Adrian the Blood-Drinker_. To all interested parties, I will type and email the first (and only) three chapters that I've written, but currently I present the Prophecy of Price and a summary of the plot that is driven by said prophecy.

_**Hear the heart, the blood yet shed  
**__**That stays until a curse is bred.  
**__**In different fur, a time refrains:  
**__**A pup will bring a second bane.**_

_**Each leader—two of consequence  
**__**Who act in pleasure, lack in sense—  
**__**Will fight a battle fought in fear  
**__**Of she the formerly revered.**_

_**Regrets aside, Peacemakers stir  
**__**To halt what has before occurred.  
**__**Regalia's future, unforeseen,  
**__**Lives in thanks to two new queens.**_

_**Master love, but hear the heart  
**__**And act for both, though far apart.  
**__**He who learns can then step up  
**__**To save the peace or save the pup.**_

_**Enemies have made their choice,  
**__**So listen hard, recall their voice.  
**__**A challenge from the bane who leads  
**__**Will set your first or final deeds.**_

_**Seek the answer from the eyes,  
**__**And therefore stop the battle cries.  
**__**But foremost, know this last advice:  
**__**For every move, there is a price.**_

Now, what say we go stanza by stanza and see what all that means? Hopefully you somewhat remember what happened in the first story. I'll just be happy if you remember that two of the main characters are named Adrian and Darius.

_**Hear the heart, the blood yet shed**_

_**That stays until a curse is bred.**_

Adrian and Darius have a pup. That's essentially the entire story. But wait! I have details, explanations, and a somewhat decent plot to accompany that statement.

_**In different fur, a time refrains:**_

_**A pup will bring a second bane.**_

This pup is a dangerous thing. Nobody knows if it will drink blood like its mother, but regardless, the humans and the rebel gnawers (yes, the rebels are still around) both want it. Even if it's harmless, it's a pretty powerful tool because the blood-drinker and the Peacemaker's bond are its parents, and Queen Luxa and Gregor the Peacemaker are friends of those parents.

_**Each leader—two of consequence**_

_**Who act in pleasure, lack in sense—**_

Just another statement that Adrian and Darius had a pup. Yes, I'm that much of a fangirl to have my characters procreating already. But hey, Adrian and Darius are _really_ good friends. And seriously, who was going to teach them about how pups are made, anyways? Hestia? No, she was too busy trying to keep the gnawers from killing her baby and his (girl)friend. Aurora? She hardly even knows how to discuss the next meal with a daughter she hasn't seen in two years. Everyone thought they were too young to know about this sort of thing. Besides, it's mating season at the beginning of the sequel, and the two are feeling lonely. I'm just that cruel.

_**Will fight a battle fought in fear**_

_**Of she the formerly revered.**_

"She the formerly revered" is Adrian. No, she wasn't particularly revered, but she did save Regalia after almost ensuring its destruction, and that deserves a little credit (which was then lost upon the discovery of her pregnancy). As for the "battle fought in fear," that's discussing the threat this pup brings. I intended to let Adrian's pregnancy secret slip while some delegates from the rebel gnawers were visiting. These gnawers would then kidnap Nerissa—the only one who could tell them more—so that they could lure the Peacemaker (Gregor), his bond (Darius), Queen Luxa, and the blood-drinker to their cove. There, they intended to capture Adrian so that her pup will belong to them too.

_**Regrets aside, Peacemakers stir**_

_**To halt what has before occurred.**_

That's Gregor and Darius going out to save Nerissa (who, by the way, left this prophecy before her disappearance). They intend to rescue Nerissa without Luxa or Adrian present, both of whom the gnawers hope to obtain: one for her ability to grant them control of Regalia, and one because she's expecting a pup they see as a future killer and symbol of power. "What has before occurred" refers to Adrian being kidnapped and raised to hate humans, which they don't want to happen to Adrian's pup.

_**Regalia's future, unforeseen,**_

_**Lives alongside two new queens.**_

Nike and Luxa are the two new queens. Nike and Howard take pregnant Adrian to the fliers' lands, where Queen Athena is slowly dying. This is also a distraction so that Adrian won't follow Darius, who, Adrian is convinced, is headed to his death at the hands of vengeful gnawers. Furthermore, all the Regalians refuse to be around Adrian because her pup might demand more blood than they already supply (and, you know, it could be as lethal as Adrian).

When Queen Athena dies, Nike takes the fliers' throne and sends a sizeable army after Gregor and Darius (the latter being extremely worried about Adrian's safety and about being a dad). The army never finds Gregor or Darius because the two had snuck into the gnawers' headquarters and were in disguise amongst the gnawers' captives. There, they tried to find Nerissa.

_**Master love, but hear the heart,**_

_**And act for both, though far apart.**_

Adrian thinks Darius is dead because Nike's army never found him and Gregor. Darius thinks Adrian is dead because he overhears the gnawers talking about the soldiers they had sent to find and kill her in the fliers' lands. Adrian and Darius love each other, of course, so this is extremely hard for both of them, but they must still "act for both, though far apart."

Adrian escapes from Nike's and Howard's custody and runs off in search of the gnawers, ready to kill whoever killed Darius. Unfortunately, nature takes its course along the way, and Adrian gives birth to a young male flier with black fur except for two brown patches on his eyes. As they sleep in a hiding place outside the gnawers' cove, the pup limps away from Adrian. I'm guessing that this pup is an explorer like his father and a rule-breaker like his mother.

_**He who learns can then step up**_

_**To save the peace or save the pup.**_

Gregor runs into this pup, who has by now snuck through the entry to the gnawer's cove by limping over the rocks as only a newborn flier can. Unsure of what to do with him—or even if it's a boy or a girl—Gregor takes the pup to Darius. Darius knows that this pup is a newborn and that he needs nourishment, but he thinks that Adrian is dead and their pup along with her, so he only treats the pup as a stepfather might, trying to fill in the gap caused by mourning for Adrian. The pup is slowly losing energy; he must be fed soon, there's no milk for him in the cove, and nobody's realized that he may be a blood-drinker.

Lacking anything to do (since they don't know where Nerissa is), Gregor and Darius try to retrace the pup's steps and end up meeting Nike's army, where they learn that Adrian was recently seen alive; only then does Darius realize that this pup may actually be his son, which makes Darius "he who learns" the truth about the pup. Too late does he realize it, because the gnawers have followed Gregor and Darius and capture everyone—including the pup they know to be Adrian's. Saving the peace and saving the pup foreshadows what happens at the climax.

_**Enemies have made their choice,**_

_**So listen hard, recall their voice.**_

"Enemies have made their choice" means that the gnawers have chosen to rebel once more, using this new pup as a rallying point. As for "recall their voice," this refers to what happens when Adrian wakes up to find her pup missing. She searches for him and she stumbles upon voices: gnawers. They're speaking sweetly at first, and then maliciously; only after a couple of minutes does Adrian discover that they're talking to her pup, coaxing and then threatening him to eat something (probably a "squishy orb", or fruit) that he's not hungry for. Adrian knows from their voices ("listen hard, recall their voice") that they mean nothing but harm to her son.

It's here that she runs into Luxa and Aurora, who have come in with a couple of soldiers to enforce negotiations that are taking far longer than necessary. Also, Nike had reported Adrian's disappearance, so they're worried.

_**A challenge from the bane who leads**_

_**Will set your first or final deeds.**_

While in captivity, Darius and Gregor have a visitor: Nerissa. She never was kidnapped, she explains; she went willingly and even asked that the gnawers take her. She envisioned herself conversing with the leader of the gnawer rebellion (for whom I had a really cool name which I can't remember now). This mad chase, it turns out, is a test devised by Nerissa and the gnawer leader to see what sort of future rulers the Underland will have.

Darius and Gregor go with Nerissa to meet the gnawer leader, who gives Darius a choice: surrender his son and let all the prisoners go free, or take his son and watch his fellow captives die. If Darius takes his son, the gnawers will declare war. If Darius surrenders his son, the gnawers will be unstoppable with the new blood-drinker as theirs to mold.

_**Seek the answer from the eyes,**_

_**And therefore stop the battle cries.**_

Adrian, Luxa, and Aurora ambush the meeting and interject, and Darius and Adrian share a joyful moment—upon finding that neither of them is dead—before realizing that their son's life is on the line. Luxa tries to interrupt, but Nerissa and the gnawer shush her: this is a test for Darius and Adrian, who have yet to prove their worth. While Adrian frets and tries to reach her pup—who is near starvation, having eaten nothing in the days after he was born—Darius ponders Nerissa's prophecy, which tells him to "seek the answer from the eyes." His son's eyes are coated the same brown color as Darius' fur, though the rest of the pup is covered in Adrian's black pelt.

While Adrian is the fighter, the one who will drink blood to keep living and the one who would kill her own race to take revenge, Darius is the one who sees through Adrian—and everyone else—to the true nature. If the pup's eyes are surrounded by Darius' fur, that means that he sees like Darius—he looks through others to see the good—and therefore either he cannot drink blood or he can resist the temptation on principle. Darius tells Nerissa and the gnawer that he will surrender his son (to Adrian's disappointment and rage) but requests that he see the pup drink blood first.

The gnawers take Darius and Adrian and place them on opposite sides of their son. Adrian has only to stand there, since she has the milk that the pup may need, but the gnawers cut Darius so that blood falls from his neck to the ground. The pup sits between them for a painful moment before he inches towards his mother and begins to nurse. He isn't attracted to the scent of blood, and therefore he is not a blood-drinker like Adrian. Because Darius was the one to point this out, he was the one to "stop the battle cries".

The gnawers don't want a flier that can't drink blood, so now they have less will to fight Luxa's and Nike's armies to claim the pup. Nerissa turns on the gnawer leader after seeing the gnawers subdued, and Luxa's and Nike's armies help the group draft treaties of surrender for the rebel gnawers. The group returns to Regalia, where Darius and Adrian go on to raise their pup and help rule the Underland fairly; life continues.

_**But foremost, know this last advice:**_

_**For every move, there is a price.**_

I just like this line. Doesn't it sound cool?

I realize this is a pretty lousy plotline. What about Gregor and Luxa? What happened to Howard and Nike after they went to the fliers' lands? Don't the princesses have anything to do with this? To any question you have about my plot, I answer: I don't know. If I were actually writing this, I might include a couple of subplots and fill in some plot holes, but for now, if you ever ask me if I would _ in the story, I say that I don't know.

That's pretty much all I have for you in terms of the sequel. But here's my last gift, my last little trick. These are the first lines of each of the six stanzas.

_**Hear the heart, the blood yet shed  
**__**Each leader—two of consequence  
**__**Regrets aside, Peacemakers stir  
**__**Master love, but hear the heart  
**__**Enemies have made their choice,  
**__**Seek the answer from the eyes,**_

Look at the first letter of each line. Do you recognize the name? Not only is that the name of Darius' father—the flier who brought Lizzie into the Underland and then died from battle wounds—it's what Darius and Adrian will name their pup.

Why not Ares? Reason number one: a prophecy with four stanzas isn't easy for me, since I like to write quite a lot. Reason number two: Adrian can only think of one Ares, her father; as much as she loved Ares, she wants her pup to have a better fate than what befell her family. So she chose Hermes, who lived a lackluster life but helped the right cause and died nobly. And when you have a life like Adrian's and Darius', wouldn't that be all you wanted?

* * *

I'm afraid, dear readers, that if you want neither the first three chapters of the sequel nor a copy of my book, that this is all I can offer you.

It has been my privilege to write for you and my joy to be part of this series. And as I've said, the Underland will never really leave me. Last year I got to visit New York City for the first time in my life. And as my mom and I were wandering through Central Park, I couldn't help but look at all the rocks and smile, hoping that there really was an Underland down there.


End file.
